Split Personality
by ladyhouse
Summary: Rebecca Middleton has left both Bruce Wayne and Gotham City behind. Now, 17 years later, Isobel Middleton departs on a school trip destined for Gotham City; destined to find her father, desperate to find out his identity. Batman, Joker, Bane, Cat Woman, Alfred, Hugo Strange, James Gordon Jr. *Previously Posted Story, I'm now re-posting with the aim of finishing.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters. I own none of the songs mentioned, they are included for your enjoyment

**Chapter 1**

**Song (s) – Winter Bones (Stars)**

It was evitable that he would get married.

Not only would it give him a healthy alibi for not socializing with all the other rich Gotham folk, but it would also drive the stares and endless pondering of the minds of various people of who he really was.

The first time his eyes fell upon the face of Rebecca Middleton, an attractive blue blooded eighteen year old of British stock, he had felt something deep within his chest that he had never felt before with any woman. Not only was she beautiful and stubborn minded, she was also the strongest person he had ever met. Knowing that she was the one to take his side as his wife and the much anticipated societal title of Mrs. Bruce Wayne, paparazzi darling of Gotham City made him fall for her even more.

If only he had been completely honest with her from the very start…

…

_June 22__nd__ …_

_Dear Bruce, _

_I am writing this letter to you, not in rage, anger, or in vain._

_I have left Gotham City behind for the sake of my health both mental and physical and to give our child a safe and secure upbringing away from the darkness of the city and the bright lights of the gossip._

_You need to know that you have become the father of a beautiful baby daughter. She was born in Montreal weighing exactly seven pounds. Her hair is a tuff of brown and when she looks into one's eyes all I see is you. _

_As a father, I know that you have rights and every child deserves to have both of their parents. In speaking with Alice, she had mentioned the possibility of returning to Gotham City and jointly raise our daughter…_

_But that is something that I just cannot do._

_It is your choice Bruce if you want to play a part in her life…_

Pricking her ears up, Rebecca halted the black inked pen in her hand and listened for the noise of infant disturbance.

Letting the pen roll gently off of her fingers, Rebecca let out a large yawn as she gathered her long chestnut hair at the nape of her neck, twisting it into place, she jabbed a silver clip and slowly rose to her feet.

Firmly wrapping her white cashmere housecoat around her waist, the young woman walked slowly towards the wicker basket that rested against the far wall of her bedroom. Looking over the edge and into the blankets, her eyes were met with a pair of innocent greens. Smiling, Rebecca reached down and gently lifted the tiny pink creature that gave a small squeak as its cheek came to rest against the softness of its mother's housecoat.

Making her way over to the dark wood rocking chair that sat at the window, Rebecca listened to the sounds of her infant daughter Isobel as she nestled into a content position. Looking out the window and down into the dark night of rue Saint Dominique, the young mother took a seat in the chair and proceeded to gently rock her baby to sleep.

Closing her own eyes, Rebecca herself would have fallen into a deep sleep had it not been for the sudden discovered habit of waking up fully at every toss and turn of the one month old infant that rested near her queen sized bed.

Keeping her eyes closed, she heard the knob of the bedroom door turning slowly before a wall of soft yellow light flooded the room at her feet. Hearing the soft padding of his slippers, Rebecca smiled weakly as she felt his hand beginning to rub over her right shoulder.

"Do you want me to take over?" the man's voice broke out in barely a whisper as Rebecca gently shook her head.

"She's falling back asleep" Rebecca responded as she felt the rubbing hand give a squeeze before falling off of her shoulder. Looking down to the yellow light, she watched it shrink into a thin beam as Paul Hunter pulled the bedroom door shut with an inch to spare.

Closing her eyes once more, Rebecca Mary Middleton, a nineteen year old single mother born out of choice and desperation to escape, began to hum one of the many nursery rhymes she had researched throughout her remaining months of pregnancy in Montreal Quebec Canada.

…

In the early days of their marriage breakup, the Gotham City newspapers had been oblivious to the split of its most famous and followed couple.

The Gotham Globe continued to run the usual stories questioning a possible pregnancy by analyzing all the angled shots that it had in its possession of Rebecca Wayne. Before the realization of her missing presence out and about in the city of Gotham, the tabloids had Mrs. Bruce Wayne expecting a set of triplet boys with the couple facing the devastating decision to abort one or face risk of losing them all.

It was the more respectable late February print of the Gotham Times that first divulged to the city's public; as to a possible problem or problems within the marriage of Gotham's most famous family. The paper detailed that the couple had not been seen in public together for months. Possible strives devised by the editors and their clever writers included everything from a quickie divorce to a cheating scandal on both ends.

But no one knew the exact truth.

No one except Bruce Wayne and Rebecca Middleton.

After her lunch meeting in London with Alice Pennyworth, she had asked her dear friend for one last favor...

_(Flashback)_

"_My grandson Paul Hunter lives in Montreal, Quebec Canada. He owns a red town house in the Plateau Mont Royal neighborhood. Very artsy. He lives alone so there would be plenty of space for you and, the baby" Alice spoke as she finished the last of her cooling coffee. _

"_Your grandson is not married?" Rebecca questioned as she watched a young mother dressed to the nines push a pram along the far sidewalk across from the café._

"_Paul has never been married and I believe he and his partner ended their relationship early of last year. He and Mark's careers didn't see eye to eye" Alice added as she watched for any sort of reaction in Rebecca's eyes. _

"_It doesn't bother me that your grandson is gay Alice, I'm looking for a housemate not a romantic attachment."_

_Pushing her cup away from her fingers, Alice pulled her patterned scarf closer to her neck as she smiled._

"_It doesn't bother me either dear" Alice smiled as she reached into her purse and withdrew a black fountain pen and a piece of white pocket paper. Scribbling down on the sheet, Rebecca watched as Alice twisted it around pushed it towards her fingertips._

"_You should know that Paul use to babysit Bruce and spent his early childhood summers in the Palisades before Thomas and Martha's deaths. I've also told him all about you. He's expecting your phone call."_

_Looking up from the paper, Rebecca could only allow herself to cry as she truly realized at just how much others cared for her and her child's wellbeing…_

…

The Wayne Penthouse, once a scene of grand inner city parties, now laid cold and unmoving. The various pieces of aged and vintage furniture that were situated around the spacious floor plan now rested quietly beneath draped sheets of white cloth. Everything that had once had a place on the mantels, counters, and wooden coffee tables were now boxed and taped shut in the Penthouse's own storage quarters in the building.

Less than two weeks after the sudden and saddening departure of the Wayne Family's young matriarch, the elderly white haired, and doe eyed butler had spent hours in quiet solitude with wooden box crates. While carefully wrapping up all the objects and clothing the young chestnut haired woman had left behind, the elderly man couldn't help but sigh heavily as he thought of the brief moments of happiness that had once radiated from his Charge.

Stern orders had been given from the mouth of the remaining member of the Wayne Family to box up everything in the apartment before placing the area under a heavy lock and key.

No one was to step foot inside the Penthouse.

...

_July 2__nd __7:46am._

The delivered mail had arrived earlier than usual to the Manor House.

Shuffling through the various white envelopes, Alfred's eyes quickly scanned through the addresses and post marks that littered the fronts of the hand sealed envelopes. Slipping his withered fingers between a few corners, he was about to chuck the lot of them into the rubbish bin upon arrival in the kitchen when his eyes fell upon a set of daintily printed letters.

Peeling the envelope out from among the others, Alfred Pennyworth flipped it over between his fingers and furrowed his brow for the letter was addressed simply to him. Focusing his eyes back on the short gravel pathway that would bring him to the backdoor of Wayne Manor, Alfred blinked quietly as the early morning sunshine momentarily blinded him.

Hearing his Wellington boots crunching over the gravel and rocks, Alfred cast a look over at the tiny guesthouse that had been made his own since the end of the winter cold and snow. By his choice, he had moved out all his possessions and settled in the converted stone barn shelter in order to place distance between himself and thirty one year old Bruce Wayne. The young man who had been in his care since the early days of his parents tragic murders.

Stopping in his tracks, he looked up to the numerous darkened windows that lined the second floor of the Victorian styled mansion. Focusing in on a specific window, He knew that Bruce would still be fast asleep with the curtains pulled as tightly across the pane of glass as possible. His orders to not be disturbed before noon would be thrown out the window this morning, for Wayne Enterprises was to announce the opening of its newly built office tower in the city's strengthening Financial District.

Gently tucking the envelope into his pants pocket, Alfred turned on his heel and entered the house that had once been his welcoming home.

Tossing the remaining envelopes onto the wooden kitchen table, the long serving and long suffering butler made no attempts to conceal any noise as he filled up the stainless steel kettle and banged it down on the stove burner. Pulling open the utensil drawer, his fingers curled around both a fork and knife at once as it roughly tossed them down onto the wooden breakfast tray that rested on the counter.

Taking himself up the stairs with the breakfast tray, Alfred passed by the closed door that had once been Master Wayne's childhood nursery. Months ago, plans had been laid to update the flooring and light fixtures that had been housed for over twenty years; plans that now had been permanently shelved with the absence of the tiny child that would have called the suite its castle within a castle.

Not offering the room a passing glance, Alfred's eyes focused straight ahead onto the closed door that was now the Manor's new master bedroom. Shifting the tray to his right hand, he reached out and twisted the round handle of the old door and pushed it open, spilling light into the dark and cool room.

Facing the king sized bed with the tray in his hands; Alfred sighed as the sight of the empty sheeted bed met his tired eyes. Walking up to the side of the bed, he placed the full tray carefully onto the cushioned seat of the resting chair near the head of the bed before taking a gentle seat on the edge of the bed. Sitting still in the cool room, his ears honed in on the tiny clicks from the wall clock on the far west wall. Looking over to the breakfast tray, Alfred reached over for the stainless steel spoon and sank it deep into the rich looking brown sugar covered steaming oats. Brining the spoon up to his lips, he ate the bite before letting the spoon rest against the tray. Remembering the addressed letter in his pants, he shifted while wincing as he pulled it out and smoothed out the bent corner.

Wondering who had addressed such a letter with elegant writing, he knew it would not be from his sister Alice in London for her monthly letter to him had already arrived and on time. Furrowing his brow once more, he tried to sort through his mind as to possible identities to the writer. Sliding along the fold, he discarded the envelope as he unfolded the thick papers between his fingers. Reading the first few lines after a date of just over one week ago, Alfred Pennyworth opened his mouth as no sound came out.

Taking up the tiny colored photograph that had been securely paper clipped to his letter, Alfred lowered the pages down to his lap. Staring straight ahead, he coughed loudly before rising slowly to his feet, abandoning the breakfast tray and its contents. Exiting the room, he didn't bother pulling closed the door behind him as he strode down the hallway and down the grand marble staircase towards the kitchen. Passing by the long wooden table, his mind paid no attention to the other scattered envelopes as he threw open the back door and continued on to his stone dwelling, letter and photograph firmly in his grip

…

_8:01am Plaza Hotel._

It was the dainty clink of the white china cup coming to rest back in place on the saucer that caused him to open a single eye.

Lifting his head slowly off the duck down pillow, Bruce Wayne tightly closed both eyes as he rolled over onto his naked back wincing in pain.

"You wouldn't let me touch your back last night, so playing the I'm too ill from a night of crime fighting card this morning isn't going to work" came a female voice from the far right of the room.

Opening his eyes and staring straight up at the intricate plastered ceiling tiles, Bruce groaned as he sat up, allowing the white bed sheet to fall down his chest, revealing an array of aged and fresh bruises. Focusing his hazel eyes on the white cashmere robed woman sitting in the plush armchair near the balcony window, he watched as she thumbed through a stapled set of papers which featured his company's trademarked logo on the upper right corner.

Tossing off the bed sheet, Bruce stood to his feet and stretched his arms painfully up over his head.

"The coffee is fresh" Selina Kyle's voice broke out over the room's silence as she flipped through another two pages before crossing a single black inked line through a paragraph.

Grabbing his black track pants that had been picked up from the room floor and draped over the back of the bedroom's second armchair, Bruce slowly pulled them on before yawning and making his way over to where Selina sat. Reaching the back of the chair, he watched as the twenty seven year old newly hired Human Resources Manager for Wayne Enterprises tilted her head back with a smile.

"Good thing too" Bruce replied as he lowered his head down and slowly kissed her waiting lips.

Reaching past her shoulder, Bruce smiled as he stole her sitting defenseless mug of steaming black coffee and easily moved his arm out of the way as Selina playfully swatted the air. Stepping out onto the open balcony, Bruce brought the cup to his lips as he blinked with the early morning sunlight hitting his sensitive eyes.

No one could deny that Gotham City, the city with North America's highest rate of steady crime, was beautiful in the early hours of the summer months. Even he could see that. Looking to his right, his eyes fell upon the expansive lush greenery of Gotham's Central Park. Looking to his direct left, Bruce stepped closer to the railing as he focused on the finished black and glassed window building that was to be the new home to Wayne Enterprises. Right smack in the middle of the financial district and closer to the picturesque Gotham waterfront the building's construction had gone perfectly smooth as the crews, with a little extra cash in their pockets, worked round the clock to completion way ahead of schedule.

Feeling a warm pair of arms gently wrap around his torso and hook just above his waistline, Bruce gulped down the rest of the cups contents as Selina kissed a fading bruise.

"Remember Mr. Wayne, you have a big announcement to make today" Selina breathed as Bruce lowered a hand and caressed Selina's exposed wrist.

"How could I forget? With a new building and business booming in all of the Wayne Divisions, this afternoon will fly in the face of one late Poison Ivy" Bruce spoke as he felt the coffee cup in his hand being pried away.

"You know Bruce, your announcement isn't until noon, and I have some…hiring questions that you should approve of before I change the official application" Selina smiled into Bruce's back as she felt him slowly turning around to face her. Staring down into her soft face, Bruce brushed his fingertips along her jaw line as she smiled mischievously into his eyes.

The same smile that had caught his attention at their first meeting on a ledge, floors up above the city many months ago.

Running his thumb along her bottom lip, Selina spun around playfully as Bruce scoped her up into his strong arms. Carrying her bridal style back into her own permanent suite of rooms at his five star hotel, Bruce ignored the flashing red light that flicked from his Blackberry Curve as he prepared to sweat through the pain of last night's excruciatingly received bruises and cuts.

…

_7:24pm Wayne Manor._

It had been three days since he had spent a full night inside his family's ancestral home.

Driving up the winding gravel roadway, he passed through the second of two newly installed security gates.

After _she_ had left, he had had the system installed to keep out any unwanted visitors and trespassers. Even those who might come crawling back to his side.

Parking the silver BMW into the car park, Bruce stepped outside and breathed in the summer evening air.

_Summers always smell so full of hope_ he thought as he started walking up the gravel path towards the back of the house. Looking over to his right, his eyes fell upon the old converted stone barn that his parents had kept as a guest house for visitors who were bodily sensitive to the cold of Wayne Manor.

Now it served as the residence of his parent's dear and trusted friend, and his own father figure, Alfred Pennyworth. Looking at his watch, Bruce could see that it was past six o'clock meaning that Alfred would have already retired from his daily duties inside the Manor House and returned to his own residence until the next morning.

As hard as it was for him months ago to deal with the arrangement, their professional and personal relationship had suffered greatly since _she_ had left his life. Alfred had made it clear that he no longer supported Bruce's nightly escapades as the Batman or his growing close relationship with Miss Kyle. That was the deciding outburst of emotion that nailed Alfred's decision to only serve Wayne Manor until six in the evening and not a minute more.

Seeing that the sitting room lights were lit in the stone house, Bruce continued to walk up to the backdoor of his own house and as he stepped inside, he was met with no delicious scents of a prepared meal.

He no longer expected anything to be done for him including meals or dishes, and as he passed by the wooden table, he ignored the large pile of unopened mail.

The night before, he had gone out to the calling of the signal and tonight, he planned to do the same.

Rounding the corner of the tan colored hallway, Bruce could see that the table lamps were on in his study. Entering the room, his eyes immediately fell onto the seated body of Alfred Pennyworth who appeared to be holding a long white envelope.

"Is it not past six?" Bruce questioned out loud as he reached his father's antique writing desk and took a seat. Batman may be his plans for his late hours, but Bruce Wayne also had duties to attend to.

Not saying a word, Alfred rose from his seat on the cushioned chair and walked over to the writing desk. Standing directly in front, he simply held out the long envelope towards his Charge.

"I saw the pile of mail Alfred, just toss it with the rest and I will get to it when I can" Bruce spoke in a bored tone as he uncapped a black pen.

"This arrived not by post for you this morning. Rather urgent I should add" Alfred spoke as he watched Bruce Wayne recap the pen and let it drop heavily onto the desk from his fingers.

"Then let's have it Alfred."

Reaching out and taking the envelope in his hand, Bruce flipped it over and saw only his first name elegantly written in the exact centre of the envelope.

"No address?" he questioned, not waiting for a response as he tore open the right side and quickly puffed some air to inflate the folds. Pulling out a thin piece of folded unlined paper, Bruce tossed aside the envelope without a second look and slowly opened the pages.

At first, his facial expression was unreadable as he no doubt plunged into the looped words that were written especially for him. Another sentence taken in and he rose to his feet, ignoring the shooting pain that ran up his thigh as he grazed it against the writing desk.

"What the hell is this Alfred? Where the hell did this come from?" Bruce spat as he sidestepped both the table's sharp edge and his family's faithful servant.

Making his way towards the warmth of the fireplace, his hazel eyes breezed through the first sentences once more before he immediately began to tear the pages up between his fingers. Tossing the now scrap paper into the flames, Bruce slowly turned around and shot an icy glare at his butler.

"Don't you ever bring me anything like that again, do you hear me?" he seethed, turning back and watching the flames of the fire snuff out any remaining traces of the hand written letter.

"I wouldn't presume to give you anymore advice on your life or your undertakings Sir, just know that you now have responsibilities as a father. Real responsibilities" Alfred replied in a stern voice as Bruce turned away from the fire and walked towards the piano.

"You really think that I can be a father figure? Splitting time between nights in the dark, obsessions with murderous criminals who think of nothing when plunging a blade into the chest of a police officer or a Gotham citizen and a happy go lucky game of a tea party or a soccer match Alfred? Bouncing a child on my knee while…"

"You will regret not being there for your daughter Master Wayne" Alfred shouted over Bruce's rambling as he watched the young man fall silent with a sudden revelation.

"A girl? Well, I might have known that _she_ would have a girl" Bruce spat as he played the familiar notes of the piano. Watching the door swing open and feeling an awfully cold draft rolling up from the darkness, Bruce shook his head.

"She left me Alfred. She's decided all this for me" and with those words, Bruce Wayne disappeared into the darkness and onto the other side of the wall.

Hearing the room fall back into cool silence, Alfred Pennyworth reached into his own pants pocket and felt his own personalized copy of Rebecca's letter complete with the baby girl's photograph.

"One day Master Wayne, you'll meet your daughter. I know you will.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters. I own none of the songs mentioned, they are included for your enjoyment

**Chapter 2**

**Song (s) – Warrant (Foster the People), Turquoise Lake (Ohbijou)**

_September, Three years later…_

The sun had been casting its early morning rays through the glass floor to ceiling kitchen window for nearly an hour.

Reaching for her red coffee mug, Rebecca's eyes fell upon the remote for the tiny television that lay dormant on top of the previous days Montreal Gazette. Shunning both unread paper and the remote control, she took up her cup and took a deep sip of the scalding hot black liquid.

Savoring the rich boldness of the ground beans, she couldn't remember the last time she had drank such deliciously pressed coffee. Holding the cup away from her lips, it suddenly hit her as to where and when she had tasted such richness.

Wayne Manor in Gotham City.

Turning around, Rebecca made her way to the sink and poured out the remaining liquid before setting the cup to rest in the basin. Raising her eyes, she spied a young child in shorts and a t-shirt riding a pink painted banana seated bicycle up and down the sidewalk just outside the townhouse.

"God it's beautiful outside" she spoke to the empty kitchen as a soft thud sounded from upstairs.

Cocking her ears, she waited for the soft pattering of two tiny feet to reach her ears.

Nothing.

Exiting out of the soft yellow and blue painted kitchen, Rebecca climbed the set of stairs and slowly walked down the hardwood hallway towards her three year old daughter's room. Finding the door still partially closed, she pushed her fingers lightly against the wood and peered inside.

The lid of her toy box was still shut as it was last night. Not a single thing looked out of place as Rebecca shifted her eyes onto the tiny lump that rested soundly amongst the pink sheets. Stepping into the tiny bedroom, the young loving mother took a seat on the edge of the single bed and looked down at her daughter.

If a child looked anymore like her father it would be amazing.

Reaching out, Rebecca brushed a loose strain of dark brown hair off Isobel's eyelid and tucked it carefully behind her exposed ear. The seemingly permanent flush on her daughter's cheeks was still evident even as she slept soundly. Her hair was the exact match of rich brown that fell upon her father and from what she remembered of the photographs, of Thomas Wayne as well. Her eyes when open were large and hazel with a slight more brownish tinge around the irises.

And when she smiled?

It always took Rebecca a moment not to think that she was looking at the lips and dimples of her estranged husband. Their daughter was a dead ringer for the handsome billionaire who seemingly ruled over Gotham City with his family's legacy of wealth and privilege. A legacy that Rebecca had escaped with Isobel's best interest in mind.

Watching the tiny child at her side tightly clutch the tan colored stuffed bunny rabbit, a gift send from London by Alice Pennyworth in her arms, Rebecca smiled as she watched her daughter's motions. Even when outside in the park or in the front yard, Isobel Martha Middleton always displayed a gentleness towards those creatures small and meek.

Smoothing the palm of her hand over her child's back, Rebecca stood to her feet and partially closed the door behind her just as Paul came out of his own bedroom across the hallway.

"I thought I heard the pitter patter of three year old feet" Rebecca spoke softly as Paul shook his head.

"No, that was me. And let me tell you it took all my years of Buddhist meditation not to let out a string of fouls" Paul whispered as he brought his arm up and displayed a long and painful looking scratch.

"Jesus, make sure you pour something on that" Rebecca replied as she inclined her head towards Isobel's room.

"She's still out like a light, you're sure you don't mind listening out for her while I go for a run?" Rebecca questioned as she and Paul moved towards the stairs.

"I made her a promise last night that if she got a good night's sleep the Disney birds outside her window would wake her up and we would make blueberry pancakes" Paul smiled as he allowed Rebecca to descend the stairs in front of him.

"You spoil her rotten Paul" Rebecca smiled as she stepped towards the ting foyer closet and pulled out her much abused pair of running shoes.

"She's a good girl" Paul's slightly accented English words spoke from behind her back as Rebecca turned around to see the tall man dressed with his signature bowtie holding out his palm. In it rested her silver Ipod shuffle and ear buds.

"They say that running comes easier to a person the more they do it; but I think the person who said that didn't have children. This is only the second time in nearly two weeks that I have had the time and extra eyes to go out" Rebecca muttered as she smiled in thanks for her electronic device.

Opening the dark red door, Rebecca blinked as the sunshine momentarily blinded her. Securing the ear buds, she clipped the device to her form fitting shirt and started down the stairs before settling into a steady rhythm with the musical beats

_(Credit to Foster the People, "Warrant")_

_I've been judged, I've been a bug unknown _

_Yeah I know all about it but my heart is strong  
I've been away, been running to save my head _

_Yeah the warrant's out and I'm almost dead _

_I won't say what I've already said…_

…

Isobel had become the little daughter he never had.

Though he and Mark had once discussed the idea of becoming parents through a surrogate mother, they both knew that with their own busy schedules, he at the University Hospital and Mark at the Bank of Montreal, there would be no time to spend on a child or two.

Entering the kitchen, he threw up the window and listened to the birds chirping in the nearby tree. Smiling to himself, he knew the little half English half American, Canadian born cherub upstairs would be up in no time and demanding to build her blueberry pancake house.

Moving to the fridge, Paul began to withdraw all the items needed for the pancakes when the thumps began to sound on the stairs.

"Clever little thing, she managed to get out of bed without a peep" Paul smiled to himself as he reached down to the bottom shelf and took up the plastic carton of blueberries.

Spying the tiny bed headed child rounding the corner and entering the kitchen, Paul pushed over the stool with his foot as she slowly climbed. Resting her bunny on the countertop, Isobel poked a single finger into the blueberries and smiled as her nail turned blue.

"Don't put your fingers in them child" he scolded as Isobel reached over and took up the remote control.

"No Saturday cartoons. We have a pancake castle to build before your mummy gets home."

Taking the remote out of Isobel's hands, he's eyes fell upon the half covered article of the Montreal Gazette that had shifted to rest half off the counter. The Gazette was Rebecca's choice of paper, only because it was one the few that was written in entire English. He on the other hand preferred to exercise his knowledge of the French language.

"Isobel, slide the newspaper to me please" he asked with a serious tone to his voice as his mind quickly filled in the missing letters to _**CE WAYN**_.

"Righty" Isobel's childish tune broke out in the silent kitchen as her tiny pink fingers slid the black and white paper to her "Uncle."

He knew from the upside down printed letters that it was indeed his name that his eyes had fallen upon. Even more, he felt his own stomach lurch as the words _**MCGILL**_ and _**SCIENCE **_joined in the article's heading.

_**MCGILL UNIVERSITY TO WELCOME BRUCE WAYNE TO THE OPENING OF THE NEWLY FUNDED ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE WING**_

"Do you need a hug Uncle Paul?"

Blinking quickly, Paul Hunter looked down into the large hazel eyes of the tiny child and gave a weak smile.

"Everyone needs hugs" he responded leaning down and feeling the tiny arms wrapping not even halfway around his neck. Patting Isobel's pajama clad back, he felt her pull back before placing a kiss on his neck.

"I think mummy is going to need both a big hug and kiss when she comes home" Paul muttered as he flipped open the paper to A4 for the entire article.

"McGill!" Isobel's voice broke out in glee as she stabbed a finger against the word.

"That's right. The school is going to have a special guest."

"Mummy goes to school there," Isobel spoke once more as Paul folded up the newspaper and laid it on the counter in front of him. Watching the child's fascination with the bold letters, he watched as she brought her tiny face closer to the grainy black and white photograph of Bruce Wayne himself.

He knew that Rebecca had written at least a dozen or so letters to Gotham's Favorite Son with identical letters to his own Uncle Alfred Pennyworth. He was sure that every single one of them had reached the doorstep of the grand Wayne Manor; though not a single written response had ever been received to this address.

"She's made no secret of where she is living. Bruce must know that she and Isobel are here with me" Paul spoke to himself as Isobel slipped off the stool and walked to the lowest drawer on the far left of the kitchen. Pulling it open with both hands, he turned around and watched as the Wayne Family's youngest member pulled out her own set of measuring cups and apron.

"Bruce, how could you choose to miss this?"

…

"I don't remember the last time you ever said yes to dessert" Rachel Dawes-Dent smiled as she sat down three stainless steel forks and a perfectly baked, obviously store bought sour cream apple walnut pie.

"Mmm, Dean & Deluca?" the man with the boyish dimples smirked as he accepted a fork from the hand of Harvey Dent.

"Well I guess I didn't pack the box down deep enough in the garbage" Rachel smiled as she allowed Harvey to make the first cut in the dessert.

"This morning I am presenting evidence to put away criminals for five years, and now I am serving a pie" Harvey winked to his wife of just over three years as Rachel smiled widely with ruby red lips.

"And next you'll be doing the washing up."

"Hardy har har" Dent laughed as he passed a plate to Bruce Wayne on his right side.

The thirty four year old billionaire of Wayne Enterprises had finally made time to enjoy a night of dinner and talk with his childhood friend and her Assistant DA husband. Three years ago, would have seen him enjoying fine wine and expensive dessert not just with old friends, but with a wedded wife of whom Gotham City just couldn't get enough of.

But three long years had passed in different light, and now he sat alone as his best friend gazed upon her husband's face with complete adoration that was mutually returned.

Rachel deserved this happiness.

Lightly touching the prongs of his forks against the perfectly brown crust, Bruce leaned his back against the chair and took up his glass of red wine.

"How is Alfred doing these days Bruce?" Dent questioned as Bruce quickly tucked his chin into his chest, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Rachel across the table.

"Harvey, we should finish up if you're going to tackle all those dishes" Rachel smirked as her husband was momentarily distracted.

"As much as I'd like to wash and dry, I have that briefing to finish. And the rent depends on me finishing."

Smirking to himself, Bruce drew his arm back and rested it along the back of the empty chair next to him.

"Alfred is doing well these days. I'll pass along your inquiry" Bruce answered as he nodded to Rachel. "And contrary to stereotypes, the rich do wash their own dishes. Sometimes" he smiled as he pushed back his chair.

…

Standing alongside of the half full dishwasher, Bruce reached out and took the rinsed off plate from his childhood friend's fingers.

Silence of absent speech washed over the open concept kitchen as the clinks and clangs of the dishes being placed in the dishwasher pinged off the walls.

"You were welcome to bring Selina" Rachel's voice broke out as she passed Bruce the last of the dinner plates.

"You are probably the only person who approves of her. Alfred certainly doesn't" Bruce replied as he placed the dish and held his hand out for the dripping forks.

"Of her? Or of your situation?"

Biting his tongue, Bruce realized that the third year of his long distance marriage was drawing near.

Next week in fact.

Lowering her voice, Rachel reached out and took her friend's hand.

"I could file the divorce papers for you. Keep them sealed" she whispered, feeling Bruce shake lose her fingers.

"No Rachel" He replied with what she contrived as a mildly sad tone.

"This would provide closure for you. Rebecca obviously is not coming back to Gotham City" Rachel spoke as she closed the dishwasher door and turned on the hot water. Or do you hope she will return?"

Opening his mouth, he was saved by the quick presence of Harvey as he strode into the kitchen.

"The Batman is someone that does not have my sympathy."

Both turning around at the same time, Rachel looked to Bruce as he casually leaned back against the kitchen counter.

"I suppose the Batman does not gain approval from every sector in the City" Bruce spoke as he watched the light brown haired man top off his coffee mug.

"We have trained officers who know just how far to go. Unless this masked man is a retired officer be it Military or a Police Force, then he has no business taking the law into his own hands. I've said it before and I'll say it again; James Gordon should be ashamed that the Gotham Police Force has to rely on his presence."

Had he been portraying the Batman for less time than five years, the young billionaire leaning so casually in the kitchen space might have struck up a curiosity as to why Gotham's Assistant DA was so spiteful to say the words "Batman" and "Police Force" together in a single sentence.

"Harvey, it's not like Batman walks the streets with a crowbar looking for anyone who fits the description" Rachel defended as she looked over to the profile of her childhood friend.

Something had caught his eye.

Slowly turning his head, Bruce nodded his chin as Rachel understood his slight signal.

The Batman's presence was being beamed out across the City's night sky.

…

A cool breeze had been blowing in through the open bedroom window since dinner had ended more than five hours ago.

Sitting in the middle of her queen sized bed, Rebecca Middleton's eyes had been staring at the folded up Gazette that had been stuffed down into her waste basket.

Coming back earlier in the day from her long for run, her day had turned to settle an anxious feeling deep within her stomach…

_(Flashback)_

_Tossing her ipod onto the foyer bench, Rebecca breathed in deeply at the strong smell of freshly baked pancakes and brewed coffee._

"_Nothing like piling back on the pounds" she smiled as she entered the kitchen to see her daughter Isobel stuffing a good size forkful of pancake into her mouth._

"_Momma!" the child smiled as Rebecca patted her mop of untidy hair._

"_Looks like someone has been baking up a storm" Rebecca smiled as Paul caught her eye._

_Stepping out of the kitchen and back into the foyer, Rebecca pulled off her sweatshirt and watched as Paul Hunter handed her a folded up newspaper._

"_I was planning on reading that with a cup of coffee" Rebecca spoke as Paul nodded his head._

"_You'll want to read it when Isobel and I leave for the park."_

_Eyeing her friend, Rebecca opened the folded paper and felt all breath escape out of her body…_

Reaching for the glass of water that rested on her bedside table, Rebecca's eyes fell upon the long white curtains over her window that swayed gently with the night's breeze.

Taking to her feet, Rebecca strode to the window and slammed down the pane of glass. All her earlier experiences with an unguarded open window always allowed for intruders or not entirely unwelcomed guests who wore dark masks with their tree feelings hidden.

Resting her fingertips against the glass, she looked down into the empty street before shifting her eyes up into the moonless night's sky.

For three years, she had heard nothing of the Batman in Gotham City. Not that she had made the extra effort to try and track down all those stories that filled the tabloid magazines every week. The only piece of news she had heard had been that the reconstruction of Wayne Enterprises main headquarters in Gotham City had been built in record time. Round the clock coverage on CNN had crept over onto the Canadian Broadcasting channel and onto their television screen.

"The perks of being Gotham's Prince. Anything can be done for the right price" Rebecca whispered as she walked to the waste basket and took out the newspaper. Staring into the grainy black and white face of her estranged husband, the paper soon found its way back into the basket.

Eight days and he would arrive onto the McGill campus amid great fanfare and adoration.

Rubbing her eyes, she was in desperate need of a hot bath and a glass of wine.

"What am I going to do about his visit? What can I do about his visit? I am no longer in his life by choice and he clearly has no interest in his child. Thank god money has never been an issue" Rebecca spoke to herself as she left her bedroom and headed down the hall to the large bathroom.

Shutting the door behind her, Rebecca ran the water as hot as she could as she stripped off her clothing. Touching a tiny bruise on her right shoulder, she slipped into the water and rested her head against the basin with eyes closed…

_(Flashback)_

"_I just thought I would take a look around" she breathed raising a hand to rest on his that gripped her hip bone. _

"_Mmm, thinking of staying are you?' "He mumbled twisting his fingers into the fabric of her dress._

_She pulled slightly away in the effort to try and coached the image back into the room._

"_What is it?" Bruce questioned with a confused tone._

"_Just nothing. Where are we going?" she piped up feeling his hand close tightly around hers once more._

_She caught the hint of a smirk from his half lit face as he pulled her towards him_

"_To my bedroom."_

_The room was bathed in light from the moon as it poured in from the open curtain floor to ceiling windows. _

"_Um, shouldn't we close the curtains?" Rebecca questioned as she approached the ledge._

"_Do you really think someone would be able to scale from the ground up? Go look."_

_Following Bruce's words, Rebecca looked out the window and instantly saw his point. His bedroom had to be on the very top floor of the Manor House. There was no way anyone would be able to simple peep in._

"_I see" Rebecca whispered as she felt a warm hand against the back of her neck._

_Slowly turning around, she noticed that his black bowtie was now gone and the top four buttons of his white dress shirt undone._

"_You are so beautiful" Bruce whispered as he lowered his lips down and gently kissed her exposed throat._

_Feeling the shiver's up her spine, Rebecca blushed as she felt his arms pulling her against him._

"_I'm going to go out on a limb Miss Middleton, but…is this…"_

_Clearing her throat, Rebecca fixed a serious eye on his face._

"_Contrary to your and everyone else's views of me, I'm not some rich floozy." _

_Smiling slowly, Bruce tilted his head as he quickly gathered the nineteen year old up in his arms._

"_Well, contrary to your own popular belief about me Miss Middleton, Bruce spoke as he approached his king sized white sheeted bed with her in his arms, I am not one to just sleep around either."_

_Clasping her hands around his warm neck, Rebecca kept her eyes planted firmly on his chin before she felt herself being lowered down into the sheets._

"_Tonight, you are all mine…"_

"**JESUS!"**

Throwing her arm out at the side of the white tub, Rebecca took a deep breath as she felt the coolness of the surrounding water against her body.

"I fell asleep, great job Rebecca" she scolded herself in the empty room as she let the water out and wrapped a towel around her body. Exiting the bathroom, she had no desire to return to her bedroom and the lingering thoughts of Bruce Wayne and Batman and as she walked down the hall, she veered into Isobel's room and laid eyes on her panda bear nightlight.

The tiny child had always been fearful of the darkness which was a complete contrast to the nightlife that her father so enjoyed. Keeping the light on, Rebecca carefully slid onto the right side of the bed and lightly rubbed her daughter's back.

"You are so beautiful" she whispered as her daughter let out a slow breath.

Protectively wrapping her arm over her daughter, Rebecca closed her eyes and tried to push out of her mind the cover story of Mr. Wayne's visit to McGill.

"Eight days" she breathed before letting the darkness of the room take over.

…

His ears had picked up the screams of police sirens seconds after the roof had lifted off the black tumbler.

From where the commonly mistaken tank sat on the upper high of the road, he could have perched on the roof and watched the cars below doing demolition derby as Gotham's Finest tore after a white Honda Civic.

The squealing of car tires only reaffirmed his theory that the Civics' occupants were heading his direction for the quickest route into the rural area outside of Gotham City. The squeal of brakes pricked up his senses as the shouts of police officers to stop running drew near.

In total, they had been four males in the Honda. Three in the backseat plus the sole driver. All had bolted from the car before it had even come to a full stop against a garbage dumpster thus causing one male to scream in pain as his ankle turned in on itself allowing for an easy take down by a first class Gotham Officer.

The three remaining males had torn off at full speed unaware that around the corner of the road, awaited their keen hunter in the dead of night.

"**JAMIE! WAIT UP!"**

Ignoring the call from his closest partner, the red haired man cut the corner hard and slammed chest first into a silver garbage can, knocking it over hard as his eyes fell on the shrouded figure atop of the tumbler.

"**MOTHER FUCKER, IT'S HIM!"**

Roughly pushing aside his brother as the man rounded the corner and smacked into his back, they both heard the growing high pitch above them as a fast moving wire tore through the air and clamped into the solid brick wall of the building next to them.

"**GET OUT OF MY WAY!" **the younger man screamed as he spun around and ran towards the road from which he had just come.

It was the sharp crack of a thin whip against the brick building that caused him to trip over his boots in the dark and scrap face first against the concrete road.

"You weren't planning on going anywhere now, where you?" a feminine voice broke out in the darkness as the man rolled over onto his back and looked up at the slim figure standing above him.

"Whooo.. who the Christ are you?" his voice shook as the police sirens fired up again and grew closer to where he lay in the middle of the street.

"Just a woman who has reformed her criminal ways" Catwoman smiled as she leaned close to the man's face and smiled.

"You should be so lucky that I got to you before Batman" she purred, straightening her posture as she moved away from him.

"Before?" Jamie's voice broke out as his eyes caught sight of quick movement to his right.

The man's scream had been silenced in his throat moments before the four first year Police Officers had rounded the corner with guns drawn. To their confusion, all three occupants were now hanging feet first from a trip wire that was situated forty feet off the ground.

…

"I thought you were planning to retire?" his deep voice broke out as Catwoman turned around and gave a small smile.

"Well, a woman needs fun outside of the bedroom and workplace" she winked before pulling off her goggles and watching Batman take a standing place next to her on the rooftop of the Plaza Hotel.

"I see. Your assistance was appreciated tonight" he thanked as Selina Kyle leaned over the side of the roof ledge and stared down into the heavy night traffic.

"But I know what you're thinking, you're thinking that Batman has always and will always continue to work alone" she breathed, leaning against his armored shoulder.

"I don't have the time to keep watch over a partner in crime" he responded, slipping off his own mask.

"Well then, how about a partner of the heart?"

Hearing her words, Bruce looked down onto the top of Selina's head and gently kissed her hair as he offered her no immediate response.

_There's only been one woman who has engaged my heart; and I know she is out there somewhere_ he thought as he took Selina's hand and led her to his private elevator where they would not be disturbed in their suite of rooms.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters. I own none of the songs mentioned, they are included for your enjoyment

**Chapter 3**

**Song (s) – One, Two, Three (Hooverphonic), The Last Song Ever Written (Stars)**

_September, eight days later…_

The Montreal, Quebec forecast had initially called for an overcast morning with more than seventy percent of rain presenting in the later part of the afternoon.

The afternoon when Bruce Wayne would step foot on the well known Macdonald Campus of McGill University.

Splashing the sink water on her face, Rebecca Middleton looked into the features that peered out from the glass mirror. Touching her thumb against her cheek, she reached over and grabbed the white hand towel and dried her face before tossing it into the laundry basin behind her.

In the days leading up to this very morning, she had felt the pit in her stomach growing as the hours now counted down. For eight days straight she had given herself pep talks before resorting to making a pro's and con's list that quickly found itself in the shredder.

No.

No, she would attend his appearance.

And she would make her presence known to him.

Resting her hands on the sides of the basin, Rebecca stared into her reflected green irises before reaching for her black glasses. She had always worn contacts and had never really bothered with the Prada styled glasses that were kept in a plain case hidden away in a desk drawer. Today, she needed to blend in. She needed to appear as just another female body in the audience vying for a view of the powerful American billionaire.

There would be press. Not just from the Canadian Networks, but also from the American sector and most likely, from Gotham City itself.

"I am not a naïve nineteen year old anymore. I am a twenty two year old mother whose daughter deserves to be known to her father" Rebecca repeated to herself in the bathroom as she slipped on her black sweater and shut off the light.

Descending the stairs slowly, her ears caught the laughter of her daughter as Isobel dissolved into a fit of girlish giggles as Paul Hunter danced around the living room with her stuffed bunny.

"Momma, Uncle Paul is being silly" Isobel grinned as she looked up to her mother's face.

_Bruce, she has your smile_ Rebecca noted as she smiled back at her child.

"We need to get going Issie or you're going to be late for school" Rebecca spoke as she picked up the tiny pink knapsack and stuffed the toy bunny that was handed to her into the front pouch.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Gently shaking her head, Rebecca slipped the bag onto her three year olds shoulders as she faced Paul.

"I can do this Paul. I have to make Isobel known to Bruce. I _need_ him to know about her and apparently the only way to do this is to see him in person since he has given no response to any of my letters" Rebecca defended as Isobel whirled around in a circle.

"Bruce Bruce Bruce" the child sang as she grinned widely.

Smiling sadly, Paul ran a hand through Isobel's long brown hair as he looked to her mother.

"My mobile will be on all afternoon."

…

She had dropped Isobel off at her nursery school on Rue Saint-Paul in Old Montreal forty minutes early.

Truth be told, she would have loved to have Paul beside her when she first laid eyes on her estranged husband for the first time in three years. But she had to do this alone.

"Christ, this is ridiculous" Rebecca scolded herself as she drove her black Honda Civic down the road towards the other side of the city. "I am nervous, but he knows where we are. He could have shown up anytime of the day or night" she thought out loud as her eyes fell upon the first of backpacked students making their way towards the University.

Pulling into her paid for parking spot in the far F lot of the Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Macdonald Campus, Rebecca stepped out into the cool breeze and pulled up the collars of her dark purple pea coat. Looking at her watch, she breathed in deeply as the watch hands signaled less than two hours before Mr. Wayne's glorified announcement.

"I need some air" she whispered to herself as she made her way towards the grass lawn.

"I am doing this for Isobel. Chances are, I won't see him until after his announcement and that is fine. I have no desire to stand up in the audience and say ta-dah, remember me? Why have you no desire to know your daughter?"

Closing her mouth as two students walked past her, Rebecca smiled as she recognized them from her organic chemistry lecture. Both students usually sat in the very back right and had only spoken out once in lecture and that was to ask Rebecca for a number two pencil.

"Are you going to the Wayne announcement this afternoon?"

Turning around, Rebecca looked to her fellow students with a questioning glance.

"I'm sorry, are you talking to me?"

"Yeah, just wondering if you were going as I didn't want to go alone" the red haired woman smiled as the man she had been walking with continued on ahead.

"Uh, yes. I am" Rebecca responded as she watched the woman hold out a hand.

"Class size always separated us, my name is Miranda. Third year"

Shaking the woman's hand, Rebecca smiled "Rebecca, also third year."

"I have to stop by the lab and pick up my tutorial papers to mark, but do you want to meet at the doors in an hour?"

"Sure."

Watching her fellow student making her way towards the building's front door, Rebecca shook her head as she continued walking.

"Looks like I will be having a wing man whether I like it or not."

…

Had he decided to drive from Gotham City to Montreal, Quebec there was no doubt that he would have died in a fiery crash during the seven hours of city distance driving. Rubbing his eyes, the tired billionaire had only had one hour of sleep since he had shed his heavy black armor of the Batman.

Though he was only thirty four years of age, Bruce Wayne was defiantly feeling a lot closer to middle age with all his lack of sleep as he let out a loud yawn before laying his head against the plush chair back.

"Though it will be next to impossible to not have any questions put forth from the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press after your speech, we should aim to answer only generally and get in and out in twenty minutes" the young public relations assistant spoke as she crossed her legs.

"Hmm"

Catching her boss's nearly inaudible grunt, the young woman tapped her pen onto the notepad that rested on her knee.

"And then you'll write me that bonus checque for twenty thousand dollars before we re-board the jet."

Opening one eye and angling his head, Bruce merely smiled.

"Nice try Ms. Lauder."

Closing his eyes once more, Bruce allowed his breathing to settle as an early morning conversation with Alfred took front and centre in his mind…

_(Flashback)_

"_I trust Sir that you don't mind in the slightest if I bow out of accompanying you on your travels to Canada?" Alfred spoke as he placed Bruce's passport and speech notes inside the briefcase._

_Slipping on a perfect tailored black suit jacket, Bruce offered no look to his long suffering employee. _

"_I have no need for you Alfred" he replied as he wiped his shoulder free of any impurities._

"_Understood."_

_Looking up to the young man who was running a hand over his freshly shaven chin, Alfred Pennyworth reached into his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. Tucking it just inside the hand written speech notes, he hoped that his employer would understand the scrawled address._

_Snapping shut the briefcase; Alfred didn't bother to remain in the bedroom as his Charge finished dressing. Taking to the marble staircase, he could only pray that Bruce would forgive him for his action. In three years, only once had he uttered her name in Bruce's presence and it was a mistake that he was not to make again._

_Until today…_

…

Anyone who had been hoping for a seat by arriving an hour early was shit out of luck.

Fortunately for Rebecca, she had made her way over to the lecture hall right after meeting her fellow student.

"Sorry Miranda, but I can't chance not having a seat" Rebecca spoke to herself as she shifted in the far left thirteen rows back seat that she had snagged after pushing her way through. With a perfect view of the front stage and the podium, she tapped her fingers along the front page of that morning's La Presse as there was not a copy of the English Gazette to be found on any of the campus bookstore shelves.

Staring down at the French words that made no sense to her, she was able to pick out only a few as she mentally cursed herself for being in the French speaking province for just over three years and neglecting to even try learning the language.

Hearing the growing bustle of conversation around her, Rebecca lifted her head as loud laughter pierced her ears. In the row in front of her, four seats to her left, sat two young women who had their makeup compacts up in front of their faces.

"You know he was married years ago."

"Well his wife hasn't been seen in almost three years, so either they divorced or she's taken some of his millions and ran off to Switzerland for a full facelift" the black haired woman spoke with an upturned nose.

_Or his wife could be seated in the row behind you and willingly without his billions_ Rebecca thought as she flipped over the newspaper in her lap and pretended to read.

Feeling a shoulder bump slightly against her arm, Rebecca looked up and smiled as an elderly professor that had taught her in first year nodded his head in greeting. Straightening her features, she felt a cold chill as her eyes looked past the professor's profile and onto a face that had been photographing hers in the early days of her relationship with Mr. Wayne.

The woman's thick Texan accent was drowning out all other conversation around Rebecca as she watched her blood red lips moving a mile a minute.

"I want you to shout out any question to him, just get his attention so we get a shot for Gotham Gossip" the woman lectured as she did a circle and settled her eyes on the gathering press at the back of the room.

"We are in a good position. Any closer and Wayne's protection will haul us out."

Hearing the notorious gossip columnist's words, Rebecca couldn't help but shift her eyes to the right and left sides of the front stage also searching for obvious men in black ray bans.

"They don't get paid for being visible" Rebecca whispered as a well dressed woman appeared from behind the stage wheeling a large white board with bold green lettering

**GREEN ENVIRONMENT INITATIVE AND CLEAN ENERGY**

Shifting her eyes onto the reporters and gathering camera men flipping off their protective covers and adjusting their tripods to the correct heights, the young woman seated with only the best intentions for her daughter; their daughter, was suddenly feeling nauseous. Looking over to the wide glass windows on her left, Rebecca wondered if there was still time to leave.

_If I expose myself here, in front of all these people, Isobel will be thrown into the…_

Her thoughts were cut short by the slow clapping next to her. Quickly erupting all around her, Rebecca slowly brought her eyes up to the centre stage podium and felt as if she had been punched hard in the stomach. For the first time in three years, she laid eyes on the perfectly tailored Valentino suited chest of her husband.

A man she had not touched, spoken to, or thought about at least a dozen times a day.

Raising her eyes up onto his face, she bit her bottom lip as she noticed the slight weight loss in his face.

_The nights of fighting crime and putting on face in the daylight hours have been catching up with you Bruce _Rebecca noted as she watched the President of the University raise his hands to quiet the still clapping audience.

"Well I must say, you are all too kind to applaud my presence. I just hope you save enough enthusiasm for our honored guest" Simon Caldwell smiled as the seated crowd let out a collective laughter.

Feeling her heart sink, Rebecca watched as Bruce smiled with his trademark boyish grin before clapping his own hands to applaud the President. Stepping forward, the two men shook hands while trading words that were unheard by the once again rousing crowd of handclaps.

Breaking apart, Bruce stepped back and folded his hands across his front as McGill's President spoke a serious tone into the platform microphone.

"We here at McGill University, are proud to offer a diverse and thorough program in the Environmental Sciences Division. Offering such diverse and groundbreaking programs that explore the environment of water, food security and environmental ethics, disease and climate, energy biodiversity, and ecosystem functionality…"

Moving her eyes onto Bruce's face, Rebecca could tell that he was just coasting through. Years of being in the media spotlight and public gatherings had been great practice for the young billionaire and she could tell that his mind was off in an entirely different place.

Was he thinking back to his latest venture out as the Batman? Reliving in his mind the power and fear that he held over Gotham as a man in a mask?

Giving a shudder, Rebecca drew her eye glassed eyes back up onto his face and quickly averted his features with a fear of shear panic.

_It's just my imagination; he didn't just look back at me from the stage. Jesus, please. _Letting her eyes fall onto the French newspaper that still rested in her lap, she refused to raise her eyes until the crowd erupted into another round of handclapping.

Now standing at the podium front and centre, the married billionaire smiled as he reached into his black blazer pocket and withdrew his speech notes. Opening the pages, his eye caught sight of the folded square of white paper. Flipping it open, his eyes took in the simple written words followed by three numbers…

_Rue Saint Dominique, 426._

Faltering slightly as he realized the significance of the address, Bruce looked up into the audience as he pushed the note aside with his fingertips. Smoothing out the pages of his speech, he offered a small smile as he lightly gripped the sides of the wooden podium.

"I would like to thank you all for welcoming to la belle province" Bruce smiled as the room erupted into a warming applause.

…

His speech was less than ten minutes in length.

But the questions that were shouted up at the podium were hurled at about twelve per thirty seconds.

"You were always good at fielding questions with flighty answers" Rebecca whispered to herself as she watched Bruce smile with yet another winning answer to his loving public.

"Mr. Wayne has time for one more question" a black haired, rather stern young suited woman spoke into the microphone at Bruce's side.

"**WHY HASN'T YOUR WIFE REBECCA BEEN SEEN IN PUBLIC MR. WAYNE?"**

Hearing the question from her direct right, Rebecca didn't need to look to know that it had come from the red painted mouth of Gotham Gossip. Throwing her eyes up onto Bruce's face, she felt a ting in her chest as his features looked almost sad.

_Impossible. _

Hearing the room fall into complete silence, Rebecca watched as her husband's lips pressed together tightly.

Feeling a light hand on his upper bicep, Bruce stepped forward and offered a forced smile towards the right side of the lecture hall where the question had originated from.

"Mrs. Wayne is quite fine I assure you" Bruce replied before turning slightly and nodding his head towards his Assistant.

"I told you he was still married" the snobbish woman upfront whispered to her seated partner as Rebecca sat in the row behind in a stone state.

Staring straight ahead at the stage that was empting, the young chestnut haired woman blinked through wet eyes as Bruce Wayne was escorted off of the stage by security guards and a company of five personal bodyguards.

The room was all aflutter with the billionaire's departure as Rebecca heard her first name being thrown casually around on audience members lips.

"_I knew he was still married."_

"_Please, if Rebecca Wayne was still the Queen of Gotham City, she would have been seen around town shopping at Saks."_

"_I bet she left him and his partying playboy habits right after they got married."_

Standing up from her seat, Rebecca adjusted her black framed glasses and left the newspaper on the floor at the feet of the chair. Watching the lecture hall quickly dispersing in bodies, she made up her mind there on the spot.

"I'm coming to see you Bruce."

…

It wasn't hard to find the cooling trail of the handsome billionaire.

Rounding the corner towards the private offices of the University President, Rebecca's eyes fell upon a small crowd of mostly young women, two of whom she recognized as sitting in the row in front of her at the lecture.

"Everywhere you went Bruce, the ladies were always trying to gain your attention" Rebecca whispered to herself as she caught the eye of a small blond woman.

"You're here too for Bruce Wayne?" she questioned as Rebecca leaned her shoulder lightly against the wall.

"I assume these ladies are his invited guests?"

"Hmm, more like, wishing he would invite them into his world."

No sooner had the words been spoken, did the main office door open and out stepped a uniformed campus security guard crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry folks, but Mr. Wayne is not taking any questions, nor is he meeting with anyone else. You'll have to leave" the young guard spoke as he embellished his ego.

Hearing the muttered threats and foul insults to the guard under baited breaths as the women walked past Rebecca, none of them took any notice to her leisure stance against the wall as the guard's eyes caught Rebecca's figure.

"You too Miss."

"Can you please tell Bruce Wayne that Rebecca Middleton would like to see him?" Rebecca spoke, knowing full well that the guard would more than likely turn her away with all the others.

Eyeing Rebecca from her head down to her black boots, the guard scoffed.

"Absolutely not lady."

"Hmm, then will you tell him that Mrs. Wayne would like to speak with her husband of three years?"

Watching the young man's defensive stance, Rebecca knew that he would either threaten her with police presence or bring her name to Bruce who was probably just out of reach behind the heavy oak double doors.

"Look lady, Mr. Wayne is not married and you and every other woman are dying to meet him. Now I suggest you leave right now before I…"

Slowly turning on her boot heel, Rebecca decided to save the kid his breath.

"I tried Isobel."

…

Forty minutes after his initial speech, Bruce Wayne found that he was still on the McGill University Campus.

Covering his mouth with the palm of his hand, Bruce stifled a yawn as the President of the University shook the billionaire's hand for the umpteenth time.

"I hope you have a pleasant flight back to Gotham City Mr. Wayne, please, feel free to visit Montreal whenever you get the chance" Simon Caldwell smiled as Bruce displayed his best behavior grin.

"I'm glad the Wayne Foundation was able to help" Bruce replied as his Assistant tapped her red painted finger nails against the side of her black clipboard.

Making their way out the double oak doors, Bruce felt a presence at his right shoulder as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking into the face of a young campus security guard, Bruce halted in his steps.

"I just wanted to make you aware Mr. Wayne, that a young girl was here making a serious claim Sir."

Eyeing the guard with a questioning look, Bruce smoothed a hand through his short brown hair as he took in a deep breath.

"And what kind of claim was she making?" he asked offhandedly as he started walking down the corridor.

"Well sir, she said she was your wife."

Stopping abruptly, Bruce turned around and faced the guard, taking slow steps towards him.

"What are you talking about? What girl?" Bruce questioned as his mind suddenly remembered the pencil scratched address that had been folded in with his speech notes.

_I knew she was lying_ the guard smiled as he proudly started to speak.

"She's already left Mr. Wayne. I told her that if she didn't leave I was going to call the police."

Stepping closer to the young guard, Bruce crossed his suited arms across his chest as he tilted his head.

"And, what did this girl look like?" he questioned, watching the young man standing directly in front of him as he stuttered his words.

"Uh, she was tall, thin, dark brown hair, and uh, she gave her name as Rebecca Wayne, well, first she said Rebecca Middle-something. A very…forthright girl" he spoke watching as Bruce Wayne slowly closed his eyes.

_Girl. _

_She's no longer just a girl._

Turning away from the guard, Bruce looked to the high heeled woman who was never far from his side.

"Have this…boy fired. And find me any video tape from the last hour."

…

Leaning his face closer to the black and white monitor, Bruce pursed his lips as the grainy figures sped by.

Rolling the mouse ball over his palm, the seated grey haired guard slowed down the images as a group of women began gathering around the President's door.

"This is the time frame you requested Mr. Wayne" the guard instructed as he sat back and allowed the billionaire to move in on the monitors.

Leaning a hand on the desk, Bruce watched with disinterest as the gaggle of well dressed and well makeup faced females pooled around the office that he had been trapped in twenty minutes previous.

"There, freeze it there" Bruce spat as he threw a hand out towards the screen.

Squinting his hazel eyes, he could just make out the view of the tall woman's back.

Indeed, she was thin. Thinner than the last time he had been in her company three years ago.

Even though he couldn't get a good look at the woman's face, he knew deep down that it was her.

Feeling a slight bump against his arm, the words of his tired Assistant rang softly at his side.

"Do you know this woman Sir?"

Ignoring the voice at his elbow, Bruce reached out and hit the run button as the silent film continued to play on.

_I know it's you Rebecca_

Shoving his hands into his suited pants pockets, Bruce felt the crisp edges of the folded piece of paper that contained a certain address.

"_Are you going to ignore them for the rest of their lives Bruce?" _the voice of Martha Wayne whispered in his thoughts as Bruce crunched the paper inside his fingers.

Taking a step back from the monitors, Bruce turned to his Assistant.

"Get me all the names that fall under Middleton" he dictated as the grey haired elderly security guard cleared his throat.

"Sir, we can't just _give _you any persons personal inform…"

Taking in a deep breath, Bruce caught his Assistant's eyes as she nodded her head.

"I'll handle it Mr. Wayne."

…

Eleven Middleton's were full time students at the University.

But only one Middleton held the first name of Rebecca and the middle name of Mary.

Smiling to himself, he knew he had found her.

Confirming the address on her school records with the mentally captured image in his mind of the folded scrap of paper that burned in his left pocket, Bruce suddenly felt flush with finding out where his estranged wife and child were living.

_Are you feeling vindictive Bruce? Or vindication for the Batman?_

"I'm going to go to jail for this."

Blinking away his thoughts with the moaning voice seated at the desk beside him, Bruce laid a firm hand on the shoulder of the guard and caught sight of his embroidered name tag.

"Good work Barry, you've helped me out quite a bit" Bruce smiled as he turned on his heel and exited the room.

Shaking his head with a small smile of bewilderment, Barry Jones closed down the monitor's and reset them to the current recordings.

"No one will believe that Bruce Wayne congratulated me today."

…

_1 hour later…_

Driving slowly down the Rue Saint Dominique, the man's hazel eyes observed the conjoined townhouses of various colored bricks as he gradually slowed down the speed of the rented black Mercedes to an almost crawl along the road side.

Number 426 was a red bricked townhouse with a set of steps that lead to a well kept grass lawn. Parking the expensive car on the far right of the concrete road, Bruce removed his black sunglasses as he looked at his surroundings.

To his left, colored townhouses with iron wrought fences lined both sides of the quant street. Bicycles resting against the iron, and the family park down the road showed him that _she_ had thought well as to where to bring up a child.

Slipping his sunglasses back onto the bridge of his nose, Bruce exited the car and checked the road before he crossed in front of his car and onto the lawn of the townhouse.

Approaching the house, he spied no car in the driveway as he ascended the stairs. Raising a closed fist towards the door, he released his tight fingers and instead pressed his thumb against the tiny black doorbell.

_What am I to say to her after three years?_

_Would it even be she that answered the door? Or had she moved on and he would come face to face with a new man of the house._

Hearing the heavy footsteps approaching the door, Bruce took in a deep breath as it opened.

The man, who stood, faltered slightly as he threw a hand up to his bowtie. Looking dumbfound as he stared at the well dressed billionaire on his doorstep, Paul Hunter gripped the door handle hard, feeling his fingers turning white.

Removing his sunglasses, Bruce Wayne shook his head as he fixed his eyes on a man he knew too well.

"Now this is interesting. How are you Paul?" Bruce questioned as he tucked his sunglasses into his blazer pocket.

_He should have known that she would run off to someone safe. It had been over twenty years since he had seen Paul Hunter, the nephew of Alfred, and if she was here with him for protection and company, then his daughter was here with him too._

"Bruce."

Clearing his throat, Bruce stepped forward as he spoke.

"I don't suppose you would be so kind as to let me inside" he spoke, nonquestionly as Paul straightened his back.

"Rebecca is not here."

"I'm not here for just _her_" Bruce whispered

Feeling his stomach lurch, he knew that Bruce would be here for the both of them.

Mother and child. A mother whom he drove away, and a child that he had ignored for the first three years of her young life.

"Mr. Wayne please, they are not here and I would rather you leave and contact Rebecca about Isobel."

Feeling his lips quiver; Bruce pursed his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Isobel, he tasted with distain, not a name I would have chosen myself" he gruffed.

"You didn't even know her name, did you?" Paul whispered as Bruce looked him squarely in the face.

"The child's middle name is Martha, and I am sure that you've received Rebecca's letters. Alfred would never have thrown them out. Even if you did."

"Martha" the young man whispered as he took out his sunglasses.

"I would ask you to give me her mobile number, but now that I have her address…" Bruce trailed off as Paul stepped out onto the step mere inches from him.

"I am not intimidated by you Mr. Wayne, or by the Batman. I trust that you will do the grown up thing and speak to your wife without threat."

Closing the door firmly behind him as he left the powerful American business man standing on the front step, Paul shook his shaky hands in front of him as he cleared his head of thoughts that Wayne would kick in the door.

If Bruce Wayne had shown up here, then chances were that Rebecca had skipped his earlier stint at the University. He couldn't blame her if she had found it too painful to come face to face with the man that was now leaving his doorstep and climbing into the driver's seat of the Mercedes Three Series.

"Rebecca, I hope you know what you are doing."

…

_Bell Centre, Montreal Quebec…_

She had never been a fan of ice hockey and sitting in her seat near the glass, she shivered with cold as the Montreal Canadiens battled the Gotham Islanders for the puck and two points.

Cringing as the helmeted players slammed into the glass in front of her, Rebecca gripped Paul's arm as she heard a woman next to her shout out a string of profanities.

"You've been in Montreal for three years and you've never been to a Canadiens game. You should be ashamed of yourself" Paul smiled as he clutched the young woman's hand in his.

He had told her of Bruce's appearance at the house and after calming her down, he had decided to have her enjoy a night out and put Bruce out of her mind while Isobel stayed with Mark.

Letting out a cry as a Gotham Islander player was pushed up against the glass with a move that should have broken his nose, Rebecca looked at her blackberry as Paul nudged her arm.

"Isobel is fine."

"I know, I just, miss my child" Rebecca replied as the buzzer sounded the end the second period.

Looking up to the screens above the rink, Rebecca smiled as the camera panned on unsuspecting couples and surrounded them with pink hearts…

To the bored billionaire seated high up in the Owner's box, he would have to down four scotches in a row to even understand the point of the game that played out on the rink in front of him. Leaning hard on the palm of his hand, Bruce Wayne gazed with a bored expression at the two young girls who sat to his right as they drunk their Pepsi Zero's.

Flipping her hair back over her shoulder, the younger of the two girl's caught Bruce's eye as she smiled.

"Are you not enjoying the game Mr. Wayne?" she questioned, watching as the young man yawned loudly with no effort to conceal.

"Sports have never been particularly interesting to me" Bruce answered as he yawned again.

Gazing up at the screens above the rink, he felt his elbow slip as his face took on a twisted expression. On the screen were a man and woman, seated together with a pink heart around their faces. He watched as the young chestnut haired woman smiled widely and offered her cheek to a man that he had stood in front of on a doorstop on Rue Saint Dominique earlier that day.

"I don't fucking believe it" Bruce swore under his breath as he felt his chest tighten. Turning around and motioning the box concierge to his side, Bruce leaned in and lowered his voice.

"Find out where that woman is seated."

…

To know that Rebecca was seated, unbeknownst to her, so close in range to her estranged husband, was making his vision blurry.

Leaving the box seats without his suit blazer which now rested on the shoulders of a blushing eighteen year old, Bruce whipped out a twenty dollar Canadian bill and slapped the Montreal ball cap over his short brown hair. Loosening his tie, Bruce slowly walked down the aisle and caught the back of her head in his vision. Blinking quickly, he looked behind him half expecting to see Paul Hunter carrying a bag of popcorn to the unoccupied seat that his heart was racing for.

Slipping quietly into the empty seat, Bruce stared straight ahead at the rink as the buzzer ran out, drowning all conversation.

He was so close to her. A mere centimeter away from the only woman he had ever truly fallen in love with, he could have reached out and touched her loose strains of hair that fell over her shoulders. He could lean in close and breathed in deeply to the smell of strawberries that radiated off her creaming skin.

Instead, he watched her out of the corner of his eye as she continued looking to her far left at the costumed mascot as he danced with a tiny child in the stands.

Pulling the cap of his ball hat down lower over his eyes, Bruce leaned in close and whispered his first words to his wife in three years…

"Bonsoir, Madame Wayne."


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters. I own none of the songs mentioned, they are included for your enjoyment

**Chapter 4**

**Song (s) – Dancing Barefoot (Patti Smith)**

Hearing the soft voice that spoke her married name, Rebecca felt her spine stiffen as she slowly turned her head around to her right.

And there he was, poised casually with his white dress shirted arm resting along the arm of the rink chair centimeters from contact.

Bringing her green eyes up from his black trouser pant leg, she took in his slightly wrinkled dress shirt until she focused on his sturdy chin. Tucked down into his chest, Rebecca took in his profile as Bruce stared straight ahead, seemingly hard focused on the suited players as they zipped and crunched each other against the plexiglass. Taking in the hometown team's ball cap that rested on his head of brown hair, the young woman at his side folded her hands in her lap before turning and staring stone faced out towards the rink.

Together, they sat inches apart in the 21,273 populated stands of the sold out hockey game between two of the biggest rivals in the National league. Sitting together, they both ignored the cheers and the bodies standing up with fist pumping cries and shouts of enthusiasm as Bruce leaned in close to his wife.

"You and I need to go someplace private and quiet" Bruce spoke as his lips grazed against Rebecca's lower ear lobe unintentionally.

Rising slowly from his seat, Bruce held out his fingers towards Rebecca in a come hither bid as she threw her eyes up onto the climbing aisle of the stands.

"Please Paul, please" she whispered as her eyes searched for the familiar face to suddenly appear on the stairs.

"Paul is…purchasing a large popcorn and two Miller Lites from the far east stand" Bruce lectured as Rebecca looked to his outstretched fingers.

_You wanted to see him Rebecca. Hell, you even sat in the same room as him for nearly twenty minutes and didn't say boo._

Walking past her folded seat, Rebecca made sure to keep a berth of whatever space she could as she walked past her husband and slowly ascended the concrete stairs towards the closest exit door. She could feel his presence behind her as she pushed open the exit door and felt the cool autumn air against her cheeks.

Breathing in deeply, Rebecca turned around slightly and watched as Bruce casually tossed the Canadiens hat that had rested upon his head just seconds ago into a standing trash bin that held no garbage bag.

Smoothing his hands threw his short dark brown hair; Rebecca looked out into the full parking lot as they were lit up by the bright headlights of an approaching black Lincoln Navigator.

"Is, Alfred with you?"

Hearing her first spoken words in three years, Bruce walked past her and watched as the driver exited the vehicle, rounding the side of the expensive SUV and pulling open the backside door.

"No" Bruce replied curtly as he allowed Rebecca to walk ahead of him slowly towards the vehicle.

Keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the held open door to the Navigator, Rebecca gave her head a shake, as she again ignored Bruce's outstretched fingers and quickly climbed into the vehicle sliding over to the far side of the opposite door. Following her into the back seat, Bruce didn't bother to wait for the driver to close the door as he roughly pulled it shut with a loud slam.

For less than a minute, they were seated alone together with cold silence settling over the interior of the car. Hearing the quiet shutting of the driver's door, Rebecca looked out her window and into parking lot as the Navigator began to slowly pull out of the crowded lot and towards the main road.

Clearing his throat, Bruce looked to his left as he settled his eyes on the back of her turned head.

"Don't you want the address?" Rebecca questioned as she refused to bring her eyes off the pane of glass right next to her.

"I've already been to your homestead today" Bruce replied with a rather bored tone as Rebecca settled her shoulders against the back seat of the plush leather.

"I'm assuming Paul told you of our little earlier chat on the front steps" his smooth words flowed as he watched Rebecca's chin set hard.

"Our child is with Mark" Rebecca muttered, deciding to return the smugness that was radiating off the man next to her.

Turning his head, Bruce fixed his eyes on Rebecca's profile as she refused to look at him.

"And who is Mark, your boyfriend?" Bruce whispered as his mind raced with various thoughts…

_What does it matter if she's moved on? I have._

Breathing in deeply to deter a string of curses, Rebecca slowly turned her head and locked eyes on her estranged husband.

"Mark is Paul's partner and he is on Rue Ontario" Rebecca answered as she ignored the second part of the question.

Lightly touching a button that was hidden in the dark at his right side, Bruce relayed their change of address to the driver as Rebecca bit her lower lip. Feeling the Navigator slowing down in speed, she watched as the scene around her began to spin as the vehicle turned a complete one eighty and began picking up speed down the road they had previous driven down.

It was true that Isobel was with Mark at his home. She wouldn't lie to Bruce about where their daughter was. In all her written letters addressed to him in her own scrawl, she had always given their address.

The Lincoln had settled back into an uncomfortable silence as Rebecca folded her hands in her lap.

"Your speech today was impressive. Especially your composure over Gotham Gossip's offhanded question in asking how I am doing" Rebecca spoke as she watched the lights of the Bell Centre fade behind them in the far distance.

She could feel his stare upon the side of her face as Bruce cleared his throat.

"You were there at the university?" he questioned with a raised tone as he fixed his eyes on her profile with an arched eyebrow.

"Look at me Rebecca" Bruce spoke as the young woman one seat over gave a sigh and looked out her glass window.

"Yes, I was there."

"Hmm, you sought me out in public, and I have you now in private. I am surprised your brazen attitude didn't haul you to your feet and announce your presence to one and all" Bruce spat as he took in her cold demeanor and folded arms.

His words sent a shiver up her spine as Rebecca settled her back more firmly against the leather seat.

"I had thought of it, but it wouldn't have been fair to our daughter to throw her out to the wolves of the Press" she responded as Bruce made a noise in his throat.

"How are you doing Rebecca?"

Turning her head around to look squarely into his face, she couldn't believe the absence of tenderness or care that lacked in his words to her.

"After three years, three years of **NOTHING**, she seethed between gritted teeth, how you can even calmly ask me such a damn question" she spat shifting against the leather to face the man at her side.

Blinking slowly, Bruce could feel her green eyes piercing into his very soul.

"You think I am calm?" he spoke softly, catching her face in the passing street lights off the road.

Rebecca shook her head as she closed her tired eyes.

"You've always played the Wayne persona as exceptionally…calm."

Feeling the surge of anger lingering beneath his tongue, Bruce breathed out deeply as he turned on her.

"_You_, left me Ms. Middleton. Remember? What would you have me do? Court order you and the daughter back to Gotham City?" Licking his lips in the dark, Bruce slowly slid across the leather seat as he felt his arm bump slightly against her shoulder.

"Please move away from me Bruce. We have nothing in common anymore" Rebecca muttered as she felt his arm move away from her shoulder.

"Well, there you are wrong; we have a three year old daughter in common."

"I've sent you countless letters, letters for three years and you've never once responded" Rebecca whispered as she continued to look out her window, wincing slightly as her neck started to pain.

Tapping his fingers silently against his knee, Bruce bit the inside of his cheek as he thought. He was aware of her first letter for he had instructed Alfred to never bring him any others that were sure to follow after it had been crumbled and tossed in the reddish flames. Allowing his lips to curl in the dark, Bruce realized that Alfred may heed his wishes and not bring anything further to his attentions; he would never throw out such intimate letters.

_Alfred would have the lot of them in his possession _he thought, making a mental note to ask him for them when he returned to Gotham City in a matter of hours or so.

_Tell her Bruce. Tell her that you didn't even bother to read her letter and that you threw it into the fire with a childish temper _the voice whispered in his head as Rebecca's voice broke out.

"Alfred received an almost identical letter" she added as Bruce lightly touched her exposed wrist with his thumb.

Silence settled once more over the heavy vehicle as they approached the Lafontaine Tunnel. Suspending the interior into blackness, Rebecca felt her breathing quickening as Bruce coughed lightly. Moving her hand out of reach, she could feel Bruce's body settle in against the leather backing of the shared seat.

Closing her eyes, she was almost transported back to the last time she was seated with him in an expensive black Lincoln Navigator. How close they had been seated together side by side. The heated and heartbreaking circumstances that had carried them together…

A brief moment in her married life, pre knowledge of the Batman's true identity.

"Where did Isobel come from? I figured you'd name her Dana" Bruce spoke calmly as Rebecca snapped back into reality and her settings.

Pursing her lips together, Rebecca had actually thought to name their daughter after her good friend. Her only friend in Gotham City ,who was now lying permanently in a coffin six feet below the soil of the earth.

"So you do know our child's name" she confirmed as Bruce took in a deep breath to relax his tension.

"You'll be happy to know that fresh flowers are delivered to her grave site every two weeks." He gritted between teeth as Rebecca caught herself.

Swallowing hard, Rebecca looked at her husband as he turned his head and peered out of his own window.

"Thank you, Bruce."

Turning his head back to her, their eyes locked in the passing street lamps as Rebecca felt a tinge of sadness deep within her chest.

_Why couldn't it always be like this?_ She wondered as the answer to her question formed on her very lips.

_Batman._

"Was it your plan to donate to the University as an excuse to be in Montreal?" she questioned out loud as Bruce shook his head.

"Not at all. It was Alfred who wrote down a simple address and inserted it between my notes. McGill just happened to win the lottery today" Bruce spoke as he shifted against the leather and placed a seat of distance back between them.

"I see."

"I ask you again Rebecca, where did Isobel come from?"

"You don't approve of the name?" Rebecca questioned with a bored tone.

"Did I have a choice?"

Turning back to face him, Rebecca gritted her teeth as she felt her fingers tense; "You always had a choice."

"Rebecca, I am here for you, to talk and…" his words were halted by his own recognition in her eyes.

"Talk? In three years, I have tried to talk to you and you've never reached out. You've never given any thought to us…" she spat, throwing her hand out and gripping the side of the leather seat backing.

"**YOU ARE IN MY THOUGHTS EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY!"**

Hearing the man next to her shout fiercely with a growl, Rebecca wanted to throw herself out of the running vehicle as she quickly pressed her back hard against her passenger door. Feeling her eyes water, the young mother bit hard at the inside of her cheek as she felt the warm taste of blood.

"Havvve, have you moved on?" her whisper entered his ears as Bruce caught the hint of fleeting fear in his young wife's eyes.

Looking her straight in the eyes, Bruce slowly nodded his head as an image of Selina flashed across his mind. Two days ago, he had sat on the edge of their shared bed at the Plaza. Watching her peacefully sleep, he wished to high hell that he could have such a beautiful night's rest.

"I have."

Whispering something inaudible, Rebecca slowly sat back in her seat and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Stop the car."

Hearing her whisper, Bruce shook his head.

"We're nearly there."

"**STOP THE BLOODY CAR!"**

Without looking at the woman next to him, Bruce once more pressed the tiny black button and spoke calmly to the driver that was now privy to the backseat of the Navigator.

"Stop the car, and walk away please" Bruce spoke as the vehicle slowed down and pulled off to the shoulder of the road.

Hearing the driver's side door slam shut, Rebecca watched as the driver walked passed her glass window and the end of the Navigator before she turned her head and lost sight of him.

"You left me Rebecca. I had hopes that you would come back home to Gotham City, but after three years of waiting…" Bruce spoke as Rebecca felt her hands beginning to shake.

"I…I think I want a divorce" her shaky words fell; as she felt her lips go instantly dry.

At the mentioning of the word divorce, Bruce felt his chest tighten uncomfortably. Clenching his hands into tight fists, his father's voice broke out in his head.

_What does it matter son, you have Selina. Your life was never meant for a happy ending._

"You…_think_ you want a divorce?" he repeated slowly, trying not to raise his voice for the second time in less than ten minutes.

"You've moved on, and one of us needs to make our daughter a priority."

Pushing his back firmly into the leather seating, Bruce quickly turned around and lunged forward, throwing a hand out as he firmly wrapped his fingers around Rebecca's wrist. Pulling her close to him, he could see the hatred she held for him deep her in eyes as the street lamp above them lit up the interior of the Navigator.

"Don't start with me Rebecca. You want to piss me off? I **WILL **haul you back to Gotham City" Bruce growled as he squeezed his wife's wrist tightly.

"And try and keep me under lock and key? Your very own Rapunzel in a mansion?" Rebecca spat as she wrenched her wrist out of his rough fingers.

"The Penthouse is kept cold just for you" he growled before fixing his eyes firmly on her face. "I'll grant you your request."

Sitting in silence, Rebecca slowly nodded her head as she watched Bruce move back into his own corner of the Lincoln.

_That's it Bruce. Your marriage is now ending…_

"Were you ever in love with me? Even when you were Batman?" her small voice broke out in a whisper as the street lamp above them went dark.

_Tell her Bruce. Tell her that you still are in love with her. Tell her that is she asked to come back to your castle, you would open the gates at an instant_ his mother's voice rang out in his head as he cleared his throat and focused his eyes onto the dark surroundings outside his window…

"Not anymore."

…

_Rue Ontario…_

Throwing her eyes onto her watch, Rebecca could just make out that it was nearing ten. The hockey game would be finished and with all the traffic, it would be impossible to know if Paul had ventured forth back to the house or over to Mark's.

"What's the house number Rebecca?"

Hearing Bruce's curt voice at her side, Rebecca continued to look at her watch as she announced the address.

"We're here."

Feeling the Navigator slow down and park on the side of the road in front of the dark grass lawn, Bruce threw open his door and looked at the young woman at his side who was pulling out her blackberry.

"What are you doing?" he asked as Rebecca looked up into his face.

"Batman may barge into private places, but Mark is a friend and this is his home" Rebecca spat as she brought the phone up to her ear.

"Mark, its Rebecca. Yes…yes I know…I know I didn't call him, please just listen for a minute. Mark, I am picking up Isobel, but, I have someone here with me, and I need to have some minutes of privacy" Rebecca spoke into the phone as Bruce sat still in his seat.

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Rebecca shoved the mobile away in her pocket as she turned the open door.

"I will bring Isobel down to the living room, and you can…"

Getting out of the car, Bruce stood aside as Rebecca slid over the leather before coming to stand in front of him.

"I don't want her to be scared" Rebecca muttered as she turned away from Bruce and started walking around the back of the Lincoln.

"I'm her father Rebecca" Bruce growled as he followed her closely behind while walking up the driveway and onto the front porch.

Knocking on the front door, Rebecca turned the knob as she stepped inside.

"Rebecca…what in the hell?"

Shutting his mouth hard, Mark watched as Rebecca slowly walked into the living room as Bruce Wayne followed behind her.

"Jesus Christ" Mark breathed as he threw his eyes onto Rebecca.

"Mark, please" Rebecca pleaded in her eyes as Bruce folded his arms across his chest in a standoffish manner.

"If you need anything, I'll be right in the kitchen" Mark assured as he looked to Bruce and stepped around out of the living room.

"Just, have a seat here and I will bring her down" Rebecca whispered as she slowly took to the stairs without look back at the still standing man.

Ascending the stairs, Rebecca walked straight into the room at the top of the stairs and turned on the overhead light, bathing her sleeping three year old in soft white light.

"Momma?" Isobel whispered as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes.

"Hi baby, I have someone downstairs who wants to meet you" Rebecca tried to smile as she stepped up to the large queen sized bed and grabbed her daughter's stuffed bunny.

"Can you stay with me Momma?" Isobel whispered as she slowly sat up curled herself into her mother's lap.

"Of course sweetheart" Rebecca soothed as she kissed the top of her daughter's head. Smoothing out Isobel's pink flowered nightgown, Rebecca gathered her up in her arms with a cashmere blanket around her shoulders, clutching her plush bunny and exited the bedroom.

Slowing descending the stairs, Rebecca caught Bruce's eyes as she leaned down and allowed Isobel to stand on her bare feet. Hold her close to her leg, she handed her daughter her friend and slowly turned the child around to face the living room.

Sitting on the edge of the brown leather chair, Bruce froze as he started to feel lightheaded Across the living room, stood a tiny child of three with a head of long brown hair tousled with bed head curls. Staring at the tiny girl, Bruce watched as she turned around and gripped her mother's hand as Rebecca slowly walked her into the living room.

Stopping in the middle of the room, Rebecca knelt down and touched her daughter's cheek before pointing her pinky towards Bruce.

"Honey, do you remember me mentioning my friend Bruce today?" Rebecca spoke softly as Isobel hid her face partially in her bunny's ears.

"Yes" the child replied as she peaked out from between the ears.

"Well, this is my friend, and he is your daddy" Rebecca choked out as Isobel turned towards the man who slowly knelt down to one knee only feet from her.

Feeling her fingers falling off her daughter's nightgown shoulder, Rebecca felt her heart race as she watched their daughter slowly making her way towards her father, the mighty Bruce Wayne and Dark Knight of Gotham City.

Keeping still, Bruce watched as his daughter padded across the beige carpet before coming to stand directly in front of him, clutching her bunny.

Reaching a hand out, Bruce touched his fingers along a particular matt of curls and as he smooth her long dark brown strains, he watched as she slowly moved the toy away from her face.

Taking in a deep breath, he was amazed at how beautiful a child she was. Almost a perfect balance taken from both he and Rebecca as his eyes fell upon Isobel's rosy cheeks. Running his thumb gently down the side of her right cheek, he watched as Isobel fixed her eyes onto his.

"Hello Isobel" Bruce greeted as he tried to give a small smile.

Staring at her father, the young child looked back over her shoulder at her mother as Rebecca nodded her head in approval. Turning back around, Bruce was caught off guard as the child's arms flew up around his neck in a tight hug.

Faltering slightly in his kneeling stance, Bruce threw out a hand as he steadied himself while his daughter's tiny arms never once broke apart from around his neck. Feeling her warm breath against his neck, Bruce reached up and brought her arms down, holding them carefully as he stared into her eyes.

"She has my eyes exactly" he spoke as Rebecca sadly nodded her head in agreement.

"From what pictures I have seen of you as a child, she looks just like you" she added as Bruce watched his daughter's finger jerk out and feeling her lightly poking the mole on his upper throat. Cupping his hands against her cheeks, the billionaire diverted his eyes onto Rebecca as she stood up and slowly walked and knelt down beside her daughter and the man who was still her lawfully married husband.

"She's asked about you ever since she started talking" she whispered as Bruce released the girl's cheeks.

"Daddy, are you going to live with Momma?"

The innocent child's question could not have hit both her parents with a larger stone in their stomachs as Rebecca shook her head.

"No baby."

He wanted to say something to her; to the child he had partially created in a once loving embrace. He wanted to tell his child that he had been afraid all this time to meet her and that he wished they could be a proper family…

Neither adult expected the child's next action.

Smoothing a hand over Isobel's shoulder as he prepared to rise off his knee, he was caught by the little girl's arms once more wrapped tightly around his shirt collared neck before she pressed her lips against his.

With a surprise, Bruce pulled back and watched as Isobel pushed forward her stuffed bunny toy into his chest.

Staring at his child, he felt the emptiness growing in his chest as he realized that he had to let them go.

The both of them.

Standing up roughly to his shoed feet, Bruce didn't look at either surprised face as he turned and marched steadfastly towards the front door of the house. Hearing a child's cry behind him, Bruce looked down at his hand as it firmly gripped the plush bunny.

He would have it as a constant reminder of how irresponsible he was, and a longing pain that would never lighten for the rest of his life.

"**BRUCE!"**

Throwing open the front door, the billionaire strode towards the parked Navigator as Rebecca finally scrambled in her haste to only a few feet in distance behind him.

"**BRUCE THOMAS WAYNE! STOP!"** her voice screamed as he suddenly spun on his heel and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. Not giving her time to utter another word or catch her breath, he took it all away as he roughly brought his lips down painfully hard on hers. Feeling her arms wrap around his neck as he pulled her warm body hard against his, Bruce broke their deep kiss as the engine roared to life in the parked Navigator.

"I've never stopped loving you, and I never ever will" Bruce breathed as he released his hold on his soon to be ex-wife.

Watching through blurry teary eyes as Bruce Wayne walked away from her and their daughter; Rebecca couldn't control the shaking of her body as she watched the Navigator pull away with a squealing of wheels.

She wasn't sure how long it took her to walk back into the house, though she was conscience in the repeated words that continued to fall from her stinging lips as her eyes fell upon the tear stained cheeks of her daughter, Isobel Martha…

"I love you Bruce, I love you Bruce, I love you Bruce, I love you Bruce, I love you Bruce."


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters. I own none of the songs mentioned, they are included for your enjoyment

**Chapter 5**

**Song (s) – Impossible Dreamer (Joni Mitchell)**

_6:35am Gotham City…_

The sun had just started to rise in the early morning sky, parting through the dark clouds of the night as the elevator shaft to the private Penthouse came to a slowing halt.

Stepping out into the cool open foyer, the young man knew that trying the light switch, any switch in the massive area concept would be pointless. For three years, there had been no power running to this home. No power, no water.

Walking slowly past the white blanketed furniture that remained pushed up against the walls of the Penthouse, Bruce tiredly stumbled past the stainless steel kitchen and towards the master bedroom. Kicking off his black boots as he made his way towards the stripped king sized bed; Bruce reached into his pant pocket and wrestled out the toy that had been roughly stuffed since stepping off the private jet.

Sitting down on the edge of the cold mattress, Bruce ran his fingers lightly over the plush fabric of the stuffed bunny that only hours earlier had been the best friend and sleeping aid to his three year old daughter. And now, she had seemingly gifted it to him.

Licking his lips, Bruce ran his fingers over the long ears as he tried to position them upright to stand on their own as he remembered the eyes of his child…

"She has my eyes exactly" he whispered as he patted the top of his bunny's head. Setting the toy beside him on the bed, Bruce laidback on the mattress and closed his eyes as instant sleep overtook his exhausted body and mind…

_Closing his eyes tightly, the handsome young billionaire was jostled awake by the soft sounds of knocking at the bedroom door. Opening his eyes and lifting his head slightly, Bruce watched as the striking figure of the chestnut haired young woman just barely out of her teens entered the bedroom. _

_Their bedroom._

"_Rebecca?"_

_Walking slowly across the room, the young woman said nothing as she stop and stood in front of the man who was now sitting rigid on the edge of the bed. Staring up into Rebecca's face, Bruce watched as she lifted the hem of her red dress slightly and straddled his legs before coming to rest in his lap. _

_Feeling her weighting down in his lap, Bruce signed as he pulled her close against his chest and gently kissed her exposed clavicle bone. _

"_Why won't you stay with me?" he asked as he reached up and pulled off his shirt._

"_I wanted to" Rebecca whispered as she kissed his naked chest._

"_But?" Bruce whispered back as he felt himself growing against her inner thigh._

"_He drove me away."_

_Bringing his lips off her bare chest, he halted his fingers from moving away off the fabric of her dress. Looking into her face, he was about to question who, when he watched her eyes slowly look off and out to the wide window's behind him. Turning his head painfully, Bruce let his bare back fall once more against the cold mattress as he arched and looked to the cloudless night's sky._

"_Batman" Rebecca's whisper echoed softly off the walls of the bedroom…_

…

Entering the Manor House at five minutes after six, Alfred Pennyworth knew right away that Master Bruce Wayne had not stepped foot inside.

Throwing on the stove top burner, the elderly man reached for the stainless steel kettle and the thermos when out of the corner of his eye, he saw the red blinking light of the answering machine.

Setting the kettle on the burner, he walked over and casually pressed the button.

"_Bruce, it's Selina, I hope nothing has happened in Montreal, and I haven't heard from you so; give me a call when you get the chance if our dinner plans are still a go for tonight at Smith & Wollensky's."_

Hearing Ms. Kyle's recorded voice on the answering machine; Alfred sneered with her "concern" for Master Bruce.

"What you see in her Master Bruce, I don't think I will ever understand" Alfred muttered as he erased the message and walked away from the machine.

…

Far too many times had he packed up a breakfast and the morning Gotham Times to a destination that was not Wayne Manor. If it was not the Manor, then chances were he would have to head across the city through the heavy morning Gotham traffic to the riverside storage containers that held more than just the average cargo shipment.

This morning however, proved to be different, for he was heading to the last place he would expect to find his charge.

The Penthouse.

Parking the black Mercedes inside the private lot, Alfred Pennyworth reached for the rolled up newspapers consisting of both the Times and the Globe and the silver thermos of black coffee. Stepping out, he would never have thought that his charge would return to this building after three years of avoidance, but finding the silent alarm going off and the flashing light signaling that a body had passed into the private residence and he knew where Bruce Wayne had ended up after his venture to Montreal, Canada.

Punching in his pass code, Alfred stood still in the lift as it moved upward to the upper floor of the building, Yawning as the elevator dinged with arrival, he stepped off and caught sight of a pair of black boots tossed casually in the hallway.

Making his way down the cool corridor, he bothered with no lights and relied on the mass of windowless curtains to guide his way to the doorway of the master bedroom. Reaching the doorway, he stood motionless and sucked in a deep breath as his blue eyes fell upon the sprawled out form of Gotham's Richest Man.

Fully clothed and lying on his back with his left arm half draped over the side of his face, Alfred Pennyworth could hear the deep snores radiating from the still body. Setting the bundle of newspapers onto a chair that had come free of its white cloth, Alfred noticed the tiny stuffed animal that rested among the curled fingers of the young man. Stepping closer towards the stripped bed, he reached out and gently took hold of the soft toy and brought it close to his face.

It was the toy of a child. A young child.

Gripping the bunny hard, he realized that Bruce must have gone to see Rebecca and their tiny daughter. Feeling sadness overcoming his emotion, Alfred sat the plush rabbit right side up beside the newspapers as he left the bedroom. Stepping back out into the corridor, he knew the reason for such sadness to overtake his whole demeanor…

"Master Bruce, you've come back alone."

…

Opening her eyes, the young woman groaned as the sunlight streamed in through the drawn curtained window.

She had neglected to close the drapes to her daughter's bedroom window and as she sat up sighing with a stiff neck, Rebecca noticed that the tiny child whom had been her bedmate was missing.

"Isobel?"

Hearing no response to her calling, Rebecca climbed to her bare feet and half stumbled out of the room and down the hallway towards the stairs.

"Isobel?" she called out again as she was met with stone cold silence.

At her request from the following evening, she and her daughter had returned to their shared home alone with Paul staying over at Mark's as Rebecca had wanted to somehow explain to her daughter about the delicate situation with her father and why he had suddenly left them both…

_(Flashback)_

"_Baby, your father is a very important man, and he has a lot of responsibilities back home in Gotham City" Rebecca had spoke through her own tear soaked eyes as Isobel seemingly failed to grasp any concept of her mother's sad words._

"_Momma, Daddy doesn't love me anymore" the young child had cried as Rebecca hugged her tightly against her chest._

"_I wish I could say to you that, that's not true" Rebecca had whispered as she remembered the angry movements of Bruce Wayne without throwing a look back at his only child…_

Reaching the bottom stair, Rebecca entered the kitchen before quickly exiting and throwing her head into the living room.

All was quiet.

Not a child to be seen or heard anywhere.

"**ISOBEL MARTHA MIDDLETON!" ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!"** Rebecca shouted as she caught sight of a shadow against the front door in the foyer. Striding over to the door, she slowly opened it as the hunched over back of her three year old daughter entered her vision. The child was not asleep, but merely sitting on the top step of the stairs in her pajamas without a comforting toy.

Breathing out a long sigh of relief, Rebecca carefully stepped out onto the step and sat down beside her child.

"Sweetheart, how did you get outside?" Rebecca questioned as she pulled her daughter into the safety of her lap.

Turning her head to look at her mother, the brown eyed child raised her eyebrows as if confused by the simple question.

"I took off the lock" Isobel responded as she tucked her head against her mother's chest, the same as she had done the night before with her father.

"Are you mad Momma?" the little girl pouted as she brought her fingers up and touched Rebecca's chin.

"Of course not. I was worried something had happened to you" Rebecca soothed as she ran her fingers through Isobel's dark head of hair.

Hoisting her daughter up into her arms, Rebecca held Isobel tightly as the child returned the iron hug as they re-entered the quiet household.

…

_Plaza Hotel 2:14pm…_

Striking his left arm up over his head, the man breathed in hard as the pool water crashed over his face as his right arm rose up and stroked forward. Pushing hard on his thirtieth lap from the length of the private pool at the Plaza hotel, Bruce Wayne gripped the side of the pool curb and took in a deep breath…

Just as a pair of bare legs entered his swimming goggle vision.

To the right of the pool, Selina Kyle was walking towards him, and he immediately thought better than throwing himself back into his laps.

Raising his eyes to look into her face, Bruce pushed up his goggles as Selina stared down hard into his face.

"Are you keeping count?" Bruce questioned as Selina kept a stern fix on his eyes.

"No, I am not keeping count. I've left messages for you, and you didn't answer any of them" Selina spat as she watched Bruce stretch his wet arms up over his head.

"Rest assured Selina, I didn't stick around Montreal for any longer than was necessary in case you had worries" he replied reaffixing his goggles around his eyes.

"Dinner reservations are still at six if you're interested" Bruce added as he brought his hands up and splashed water along the black flats upon her feet.

Quickly moving out of the way of the water, Selina only turned and offered no response as Bruce watched her disappear from the pool area.

"Cats don't like water?" he muttered to himself as he took off once more to complete a further thirty repeated laps.

…

Sitting at the kitchen table, Rebecca drew a rough single line through a typed sentence as she blew out in frustration.

"Aside from having a shaky meeting, and introducing your daughter to her estranged father all in one night, what's causing you frustration now?" Paul's voice broke out from behind her shoulder as he sat down a fresh cup of black coffee.

"Yes, aside from being in the presence of my soon to be ex-husband, and having told him that I want a divorce, what else could I be possibly frustrated at?" Rebecca spat as she tossed her academic paper away and felt her hands starting to shake.

"You know I would have been there for you last night" Paul whispered as Rebecca nodded her head.

"I know that" she frowned, looking into her black coffee.

"Perhaps this will cheer you up; Alice is coming to visit next week."

Raising her eyes onto his, Rebecca instantly felt a sigh of relief as she pictured Alice romping around with her daughter in the yard and sharing the new plush toy that always signaled Alice's arrival to Isobel.

"At least Isobel will be cheered up" Rebecca spoke as Paul reached out and touched her hand.

"Do you think Bruce will heed your words and file the papers?"

Blinking slowly, Rebecca reached out for her cooling mug.

"If he doesn't before the end of this week, I will file them myself. We've been separated for over three years and though I still love him, I can't stand this anymore."

…

_Dent-Dawes Townhouse 5:34pm…_

Blowing on the steam that radiated off the coffee that he held between his hands, Bruce Wayne crossed his grey panted legs and watched as his childhood friend took a seat across from him in her spacious white living room.

"So, you saw her, last night?" Rachel questioned as she sat down two blue pens and a pad of lined paper on the coffee table that separated her from the young billionaire.

Drawing out a long sip, Bruce let the white china mug come to rest on the edge of the table as he slowly nodded his head.

"I saw them both Rachel" Bruce corrected as he interlaced his fingers in his lap.

"What is her name?" Rachel asked, broaching the delicate subject as she took up a pen and the note pad.

"Her name is Isobel. Isobel Martha."

Nodding her head, Rachel was itching for the second part of her question.

"I'm assuming Rebecca gave her maiden name for the child?"

Nodding his head, Bruce reached forward once more for his coffee.

"The Wayne name is a curse as far as I am concerned. At least Rebecca did something right" Bruce spat as he caught Rachel's eye.

"If Rebecca had stayed here in Gotham City, your daughter would have the Wayne name, and she would be protected. Living in Montreal, in another country, once the papers are filed for your divorce, the media will most likely be venomous with the details and the hunting down of Rebecca. Surely, you don't want that for either of them…" Rachel trailed off as she uncapped her fountain pen.

"Well, we will never know that for sure now, will we" Bruce whispered as Rachel hovered her pen over the paper.

"To make this as fair and unbiased, Rebecca really should be here to meet with you and express her wishes as to the divorce proceedings" Rachel announced as Bruce steepled his fingertips.

"In a perfect world, I would want nothing more than to have her here" he muttered as Rachel's ears perked up.

"This is off topic Bruce, but, do you mind if I inquire about Selina?"

"It's been made pretty obvious that you are more tolerant of her presence in my life than Alfred is" Bruce replied as he tucked his chin down into his chest.

"She is quite strong willed; at least she was the last time I spoke with her" Rachel noted as she remembered Selina's curt shouting at a taxi driver that had cut them off while about on foot in downtown Gotham.

"She's a lot more than that Rachel."

_She's also a reformed thief turned fellow criminal hunter to Batman._

"Do you love her?"

Hearing Rachel's unapologetic question, Bruce turned his head to catch the

"Bruce, you and I have been friends since the time we were both in diapers. You can't hide anything from me, and with your refusal to answer, I can see in your eyes that you don't."

Setting his eyes hard on hers, Bruce opened his mouth to speak.

"You're right Rachel, I don't love her."

Shaking her head, the young dark haired woman found herself feeling not a bit of sorrow for her good friend.

"After three, nearly four years of being with her and…"

Rising up from his plush chair, Bruce took to his feet and slowly walked over to the large picture window. Looking down on the congestion of city traffic, he placed his palm flat on the glass pane and looked to the apartment complex across the way.

"My recommendation as your divorce lawyer Bruce would be to have Rebecca here during the drawing up of the papers. She should have a say on the division of assets and the fact that you share a child who is a minor" Rachel spoke as she tossed the pen down onto the table.

"Rebecca can have everything and anything that she wants" Bruce spoke loudly at the window.

"Even sole custody of your daughter, who legally is heir to the Wayne family foundation?"

…

_Three Days Later…_

"Isobel, get away from the window while it's storming."

Pressing her nose against the cool glass, three year old Isobel Middleton watched intently as the raindrops pelted the pane in front of her. Watching the drops slide down past her fingertips, Isobel sat back on the couch and flew off the seat towards her mother's safe arms at the deep overhead crack of the thunderstorm that was moving over the roof of the house.

"Momma, I'm scared" Isobel cried as she buried her face into Rebecca's arm.

"It's only the angels playing a game of croquet."

Raising her tear stained face, Isobel turned and fixed her eyes on Paul as he nodded his head.

"Angels?"

"That's right. Aunt Alice always told me that the angels have their game nights and sometimes it's bowling, other times its croquet" he smiled as the three year old child wiped her cheeks.

Bringing the sleeve of her soft white sweater up patting her daughter's cheek, Rebecca ignored the ringing of the telephone as Paul walked the length of the kitchen.

"Hello?"

Hearing silence settling over the kitchen, Rebecca look to Paul who was staring directly at her with the phone receiver pressed firmly against his ear.

"Give me a moment please" Paul spoke as he nodded his head to Rebecca.

"Isobel, how would you like to help me get Aunt Alice's bedroom already for her visit?" Paul questioned as Rebecca frowned in confusion.

"Yes please" the young girl smiled widely as she jumped down off her mother's lap.

"Paul, what is…"

Cutting her off with a swipe of his hand, Rebecca stood to her feet and approached him.

"It's Bruce…"

…

It had been her own request that they finally file the papers and move on with each other's separate lives.

Standing with her back leaning against the red painted wall of the kitchen near the storage pantry, Rebecca brought a hand up and tried to message the growing knot in her shoulder blade unsuccessfully.

"I've survived this long on my own Bruce with no intrusion from Press or anyone else. My life is in Montreal with our daughter" she spoke into the phone as she brought it away from her right ear and switched it to her left.

"The Media, try as hard as I might to have everything sealed, will eventually get a hold of certain details. As you know, questions have already been asked about your whereabouts. If you agree to return to Gotham City, I can at least offer you protection" Bruce countered back as he pressed his back hard against the expensive brown leather of his office chair.

"Have you signed the papers?"

Hearing her question, Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose as the closed door to the office opened, revealing Alfred with a silver tray of some sort of hot beverage.

"The papers have been drawn up Rebecca, you just need to sign and date" Bruce finally answered as he caught Alfred wince at the mentioning of her name.

"You have our address. I shall sign them as soon as they arrive" Rebecca spoke solidly as she felt her chest tightening at just how coarse her words fell out of her mouth.

_He deserves every bit of it._

"No. If you want our marriage dissolved, you will come to Gotham City and sign the papers" Bruce spat as Alfred left the room without closing the heavy door.

Scoffing into the phone receiver, Rebecca straightened her back and gripped the phone tightly.

"Bruce, I have no intention of ever stepping foot in Gotham City ever again. I have commitments here, I have our daughter to take…" the woman's voice wavered as Bruce's voice cut in.

"For one day Rebecca. And after that, you'll never have to come back here again."

Silence ensued on both ends of the phone as Rebecca heard the voice of conscience in her head…

"_Into the belly of the lion you will go. But will you manage to crawl out?"_

…

Hanging up ten minutes later, Rebecca listened for the storm that had featured so prominently minutes before and during her unexpected conversation with the man she had once fallen head over heels in love with, and was met with silence.

Stepping out of the kitchen, she opened the front door to the house and stepped outside onto the concrete step as a light rain fell. Angling her gaze up to the dark sky, she watched as a quick flash of lightening signaled in the distance.

There was no thunder to follow.

"Isobel is all set for her bath" Paul's voice broke out behind her as Rebecca slowly turned around.

"Paul, would it be possible for you to take care of Isobel with Mark for a few days?" she questioned quietly as Paul reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Rebecca, please tell me that you are not going to Gotham City?"

Shaking her head, Rebecca looked into her good friend's face with a blank expression.

"He refuses to send me the divorce papers. If I want this for Isobel and myself, I have to sign them there" she replied as Paul shook his head.

"And you don't think he will slap you with a court order preventing you from leaving? Or worse yet, some custody bullshit lawsuit for you taking his child out of America and away from him? Wake up Rebecca! Bruce Wayne has never been a force to reckon with. Professionally or personally" Paul spat as Rebecca walked past him and back into the house.

"I had thought of that Paul, but he knows that I could bring him and his entire fortune down with a single revelation" Rebecca replied as she started for the stairs to give her daughter her nightly bath.

"And what is that?"

Turning around on the steps, Rebecca faced Paul as he felt a shiver fall down his spine.

"That Bruce Wayne is the Dark Knight."


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 6**

**Song(s): Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)**

_October…_

Setting her green eyes out onto the white wing of the Air Canada airplane, Rebecca felt her stomach beginning to flop as the early morning clouds parted to reveal a beautiful picturesque city.

"Ladies and Gentleman, Air Canada Flight 765 arriving at Gotham International Airport will be making landing in fifteen minutes. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. From all of us at Air Canada, we thank you for making your travel with us" the words of the red headed stewardess boomed from the wall phone.

Laying a hand on her already locked seatbelt, Rebecca adjusted her black rimmed glasses as a little girl probably no older than Isobel, turned around in her seat across the aisle and began to wail.

"Christ, there's always one no matter where you go."

Keeping silent, Rebecca turned and looked to the irritated man at her side…

_(Flashback)_

"_Are you going to see Daddy?"_

_Tenderly running the brush through the curled ends of Isobel's long dark hair, she felt her heart sink as her daughter's childish voice danced around her ears._

_Why lie?_

_Will she even remember this moment? Or anything about Bruce being here for ten minutes when she's older and more independent?_

"_Yes, I am" Rebecca replied as she sat the brush down and rubbed Isobel's tiny shoulders._

"_Can I go too?..."_

…

Watching her fellow passengers sort through the respective exits littered around the Gotham International Airport, Rebecca secured her shoulder bag as she feathered her bangs across her forward. Though she knew that nothing Wayne related would be waiting for her at the airport; no pick up, no escort, no in the flesh Bruce Wayne, Rebecca knew that the airport was littered with shutterbugs.

Spying the front door of the airport terminal, Rebecca confidently walked forward as she quickly checked the date and time on her blackberry.

October 5th, 8:25am.

One day before she was to meet with Bruce and sign the long overdue divorce papers.

…

Slouching in the plush dark violet chair, Bruce Wayne breathed out with a bored tone as he threw his eyes out to the large wide window behind his assistant's silhouette.

He had been up since 4am, and after another night of ringing in petty, easy small minded criminals, he brought his hand up and waved the young woman off.

"Clear my schedule for the rest of the day if you please" Bruce spoke as he reached over and grabbed the sitting glass of water at his elbow.

"Well you had a lunch appoint with Rachel Dent, but she has already cancelled. That was next on my list to tell you."

Shifting his eyes back onto her face, Bruce nodded his head as he rose to his feet.

"Mr. Wayne, is everything alright?"

Hearing the concern in her voice, Bruce waved her away as he crossed his arms over his chest and situated himself directly in front of the window.

"Will everything be better once tomorrow is over and done with?" he spoke to himself as he heard his office door firmly close.

_She arrives tomorrow Bruce, she's dead set on no reconciliation with you. Just let her go and hope for the best. _

…

Years ago when she lived in Gotham City, as a naïve eighteen/nineteen year old, she had relied on the taxi cab system. Years later, her hatred of the slow traffic and jerky movements of the cabs radiated fresh in her mind as the yellow taxi nearly t-boned a dark blue Ford Focus.

"Can you try not to get us killed please?" Rebecca spat as she gripped the door handle hard in the bid to steady herself.

"Hey, that guy came out of nowhere babe" the gruff, unshaven driver offered as he eased on the brakes for another set of red lights.

_I come to Gotham a day early, and I may suffer in a traffic accident at the hands of a man who smells like he hasn't bathed in a week _Rebecca noted as she looked out her passenger side window.

Feeling the cab lurch forward to join the rush of traffic, Rebecca took off her glasses and only caught a quick glimpse of a large, what appeared to be made entirely out of solid gold, sign attached to the front of a black building.

"Wait! Are you able to swing a right at the next street and take me over to that building with the gold sign?" Rebecca questioned as the cabbie sought her face out in his mirror.

"Babe, Gotham Taxi's are renowned for weaving in and out of everything" he smiled as he wretched the steeling wheel a hard right.

Slowing down on the opposite side of the street, Rebecca hit the window button and stared up at what she now confirmed was a gold stenciled plated sign that read two words.

**WAYNE ENTERPRISES**

"You want to get out here babe and visit with Mr. Wayne?"

Snapping back into reality, Rebecca shook her head as she rolled up the window.

"Tomorrow" she replied as the cabbie gave her a questioning look.

"If you please?" Rebecca instructed as the cabbie muttered something inaudible before hitting the gas pedal.

…

Throwing off his navy suit jacket, Bruce rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt as he took a seat at his oak desk and stared at the prepared papers Rachel had drawn up days earlier.

Though he had told Rebecca that everything was organized on paper, he had lied.

The papers required not just both of their signatures, but also a hammering out of details on their no prenuptial marriage. Essentially, they were blank.

_(Flashback)_

"_If she's already a millionaire in her own right, one can hope that she won't require a sizable piece of your family's company" Rachel noted as Bruce shook his head._

"_You've never met her Rachel. Rebecca is, and never has been, one to accept anything that she hasn't earned. Her family's aristocratic status only repealed her not encouraged her" Bruce answered as Rachel held his eyes steady._

"_She knows about Batman Bruce, would that not constitute as earning a piece of the pie?"_

Closing the manila file with the papers tucked inside, Bruce walked to the safe behind the typical Van Gogh painting that one would find in a business office and turned the numbers to the dial. Setting the papers inside, he closed it and walked slowly to his closed office door.

Feeling the tips of his fingers against the round knob, Bruce turned towards his desk as the phone began to ring.

"I'll never get out of here" he growled as he strode to his desk and roughly took up the phone handle.

"Bruce Wayne" his voice pierced through the connection.

"It's Selina."

Walking around the side of his desk, Bruce took a seat in his chair as he leaned back and crossed his ankles on the corner of the oak wood.

"I wanted to catch you before you left for lunch with Ms. Dawes" Selina began as Bruce broke in.

"Well, Rachel had to cancel, so if you'd like to take her place, meet me at the elevators on the fifth floor and we'll take the Bentley" Bruce offered as he heard Selina give some instructions to a fellow worker.

"That would be nice Bruce, I want to show you something as well that I think would raise the public profile of the Wayne Enterprises Antiquity Department."

Agreeing to meet his unofficial other half for lunch, Bruce Wayne took a moment to close his much abused eyes for a brief rest…

_(Flashback)_

_The night had started off with such promise._

_The promise of a much needed, and much appreciated night off from exercising his theatrics as the Caped Crusader both feared and admired by nearly all of Gotham's citizens. No matter their caliber._

_It was around two am when the sirens began screaming in the far off distance near 54__th__ street and West. It was exactly fifteen minutes later when the signal pierced through the night's sky and lit up the high towering clouds over the slumbering city._

_Ignoring the sirens that were growing in sing song, the masked man landed easily on the rooftop of "One Police Plaza" otherwise known as the Gotham Police Department. Keeping to the shadows, he watched as Commissioner James Gordon rubbed his palms together before turning his head towards the shadows in his very direction._

"_You would easily define "Quiet as a mouse" the Commissioner's soft tired voice broke out as Batman revealed himself._

"_Something bothering you, Commissioner?" Batman questioned as he took in the disheveled appearance of Gotham's top police officer._

"_Aside from the stress of balancing my marriage and family life together with the constant demands of America's most crime ridden city, there is something bothering me. And it has to do with a number of small break ins in the East end" Gordon explained as he touched the mobile phone that was silently buzzing on his hip._

_Lowering his eyes, Batman focused on the tiny electronic device before watching Gordon irritatingly slammed his hand down, causing it to fall and crash to the dirty wet rooftop._

"_A piece of advice Commissioner; don't ignore your family."_

_Hearing his own words made his lips curl. _

"_Bruce, you never took care of your own family. Now they've fled from you and this city" Martha's voice broke out in his head as he watched Jim Gordon move a little closer._

"_And I suppose your family understands the demands of a nightly job? How do they deal with it?"Gordon asked offhandedly not prepared for any sort of explanation to an answer._

"_They leave Gotham for good" Batman replied as Gordon fixed a curious eye on his upper suited chest._

"_You know, I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to figure out just who you really are" the aging Commissioner remarked as a small smile spread across Batman's lips._

"_Then I'll be waiting for your knock on my front door…"_

Opening his eyes, Bruce rubbed his eyes as he looked to his watch.

"Time to put on a show" he muttered as he grabbed his suit jacket and exited his office.

…

_Smith &Wollensky's, 10:45am…_

Seated together in the far corner of the restaurant, away from any windows facing the busy crowded streets, Bruce tapped his fingers against the rim of his scotch glass as Selina took a dainty sip of her white wine.

Though officially, the restaurant did not open until eleven thirty, it didn't take much for a phone call to have the staff arrive and the heat flowing from the dated kitchen with the irresistible aroma of aged steak.

'I'm glad we have this time together Bruce. Aside from the dark Gotham rooftops, I feel like we don't exactly have a normal relationship. Though who in this day and age has a "normal relationship" Selina added as Bruce muttered a few inaudible words as the rim of his glass met his lips once more.

What in the hell was he doing drinking a second scotch at ten thirty in the morning? He thought as he felt the cubes of ice against his teeth.

"I would ask if something was the matter, but I know you have your meeting tomorrow morning" Selina spoke quickly as Bruce pushed aside his glass.

"Well, that is tomorrow. And today is today Selina" Bruce replied, reached across the table and taking Selina's hand in his. Bringing it across the table, he leaned forward and gently touched his lips against her knuckles.

Letting her hand go, Bruce watched as Selina brought her chair around the table next to his. Bumping against Bruce's shoulder, Selina placed her brown leather carry bag on the tabletop and withdrew a heavy book.

"And what is this?" Bruce questioned as Selina opened the dark leather bound book and began turning the pages against the shirt cuff of his wrist.

"This is my idea for the Antiquity Department. Looking through its profile, I believe that if the company holds a fundraiser with the donations going to support a new wing to the Museum of Modern Art, it would really raise the appeal and portfolio of the Wayne Antiquity Department. It would generate more global interest to another area of Wayne Enterprises."

Hearing her words, Bruce glanced down at the pages resting against his wrist and turned the corner of the book more towards him.

"An Egyptian exhibit; featuring the collection of cats supposedly owned by the House of Cleopatra? How exactly does this fit in with Wayne Enterprises?" Bruce questioned as Selina reached for her wine glass.

"A fundraiser would raise the profile of the lesser known Division of the company" Selina added as she closed the book.

"Sounds completely reasonable." Pushing his glass aside, he made way for the white plates of delicious food.

"I'll send the available dates for Belvedere Hall to your secretary. I can tell you Bruce that this will be a great idea" Selina smiled as she shifted her chair back around the table.

"You're always about the cats."

…

_4:31pm Gotham City Cemetery…_

"I don't believe it" Rebecca muttered as she squatted down on her hunches and brushed her fingers along the delicate petals of the flowers that were settled around the base of Dana Cullen's granite headstone.

"_You'll be happy to know that fresh flowers are delivered to her grave site every two weeks"_

Gently touching the petals of the obviously expensive bouquet, Rebecca felt her lips turning into a small smile as she nodded her head.

"Thank you for this Bruce."

Standing to her feet, the young woman touched the outline of Dana's name as she remembered her old friend.

"The first time we met, I needed a job and you stuck up for me. I only wish that we had had more time together. You would have been my bridesmaid, and my daughter's proud godmother." Feeling the tears forming in her eyes, Rebecca rested her hand on the smooth round headstone as she watched a silver Nissan creeping at a slow pace far down the gravel road. Fixing her eyes on the occupants all dressed in black, Rebecca watched as a young blonde girl stepped out and immediately gripped the offered hand of an elderly woman.

Patting Dana's stone, Rebecca made a mental note to have the fortnightly delivered flowers on behalf of the Wayne bank account changed over to hers.

"You were my friend Dana. Not his."

…

_9:18pm…_

Shifting her body around in the back of the taxi cab, Rebecca tapped her hand on the back of the passenger seat.

"This is the street. You can let me off here" Rebecca assured as she reached into her pocket for an American fifty dollar bill. Handing it to the stout Italian driver, she opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk around a collection of beat up silver trashcans.

"You are heading back to your hotel after this? I will wait. No girl should be out in this part of town at night" the driver spoke as Rebecca closed the door.

"No thanks, I'll be fine."

"This area is dangerous missy, you young and white, you will make a target."

Shaking her head, Rebecca tapped the roof of the yellow taxi cab. _If anything, I bet you that I will soon have a shadow on my tail. If not at this very moment _she thought as she began to walk away from the still running vehicle.

"Ah, you one of them who wants to be saved by the Man Bat" the Italian chucked as he watched the young dark haired woman cut across his headlights for the other side of the street.

"I wish you all the luck" he whispered, throwing the taxi into drive and leaving Rebecca alone on the street, save for the fading sound of the engine.

Walking slowly down the sidewalk of the street, Rebecca plunged her hands into her brown leather jacket pockets as she felt the bite of the cool October air against her cheeks. Stopping beneath a solo street lamp, Rebecca stared hard at the set of dark stairs that led up to the brownstone townhouse.

Crossing the street, the young woman spied a single lamp in the window of the living room. Approaching the set of stairs, Rebecca stepped back as the front door opened with a heavy set woman exiting carrying a plastic shopping bag. Walking past Rebecca, the woman caught her eyes for a split second as she turned left and walked down the sidewalk.

"Hun, the door is always open."

Blinking quickly, Rebecca looked up to a thin older woman staring down at her with her hand holding the round door knob.

"Um, no, I'm not here for anyone" Rebecca spoke as she stood on the empty sidewalk.

"Actually, is this building still a private residence?" she questioned as a second woman carrying a worn duffel bag brushed past her shoulder and walked up the staircase. Remembering back to when she had the building put on the Gotham Market, she was not surprised that it sold without a viewing in less than three hours, and at well over asking price.

"Hello Margaret. To answer your question dear, no it's not a private residence. It's a women's shelter. One of the many in this city sorry to say" the woman explained as she turned slightly to her left and touched a finger to a plaque that Rebecca could not see in such darkness.

"The Rebecca Wayne Shelter for women and their children. We provide a place for abused and threatened women and their children. Are you a reporter?" the woman asked with a bit of a rough tone as she took in the appearance of the well kept young woman still standing at the bottom of the staircase.

Taking a step backwards, Rebecca felt the heels of her shoes against the edge of the concrete sidewalk as her head began spinning.

"No, I am not a reporter. Can I ask who donated this building?" Rebecca asked as she stepped forward and gently laid a hand on the guard rail that had been installed obviously after the building's designation.

Allowing the door to close behind her, the woman slowly descended two steps of the staircase and Rebecca could instantly see at closer range the tiredness of long hours and stress in the woman's face.

"You must not be from around here dear. Mr. Wayne donated the building. Such a generous man he is. He must have picked it up from his father who was always willing to donate hours to our women and their children after the free clinic on 8th closed down." Holding out her hand, the woman smiled.

"My name is Sherri, and like I said, we are completely anonymous."

"It's nice to meet you Sherri" Rebecca whispered as she pressed her hand into the woman's.

"It's a nice gesture to his wife I think; to give the shelter his wife's name. From what I've read in the papers, she didn't have a particularly happy childhood."

Clearing her throat, Rebecca nodded her head as an array of thoughts flew through her mind

_Well it looks like either my family's hired help or an old school chum was paid for tidbits_

"We still have warm soup leftover from dinner if you have any more questions?" Sherri offered as Rebecca shook her head and forced a smile on her face.

"No thank you Sherri, but I'm glad to see that the wealthy in this city are trying to take care of their own. I wish you all the luck in the world."

Parting ways, Rebecca turned around and began walking back the way she came as Sherri ascended the stairs and gave no second look back to the wealthy woman of whose name rested upon the brick townhouse.

The stink of the garbage cans lined up along the edges of the sidewalk would have made any strong stomach hurl, but for the twenty two year old woman passing by, there was no sign of an effect. Too caught up in her mind about the shelter made possible by Bruce, the man she was set to divorce come lunch the next day, Rebecca raised her eyes just as a backpacked youth on a skateboard swerved out of harm's way.

"Stupid Bitch!" the youth yelled as Rebecca followed him with her eyes, standing beside a trash can.

"**SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE!"**

Hearing a gut wrenching scream, Rebecca turned around and watched as a woman dressed head to toe in white tripped over a half folded cardboard box before scrambling to her feet and quickly turning down the closest alleyway.

Balling her fists, Rebecca felt her breath quickening as she spied two dark clothed men rounding the corner and shoving each other down the alleyway.

Thrusting her hand into her pocket, Rebecca withdrew her phone and punched in 911.

"911 dispatch?"

"I'm on the corner of…4th and Rhoades. There is a woman being chased by two men and she needs help" Rebecca breathed as she took a step forward and paused as a car sped past.

"And m'am, your name?"

"Pardon?" Rebecca breathed as she heard another scream.

"Your name?"

Ending the call, Rebecca shoved the phone into her pants pocket and balled her fists.

"I have to do something" she spoke, feeling her legs starting to shake as she jogged across the empty street and straight into the dark mouth of the alley.

"_You are just asking for trouble Mrs. Wayne"_ her conscience broke out as Rebecca kept her hands out in front of her.

_When you hit age four Isobel, you are starting karate lessons_ Rebecca noted as the mouth of the alley opened wide.

Stepping into a pool of white light supported by a spotlight perched on the right side of the building in front of her; Rebecca heard a muffled sob as she caught the backs of two bodies in the far left corner.

"Hey…" she choked out with no effect from the bodies.

"**HEY!"**

Hearing the scream from behind them, both males turned around and slapped each other on the shoulders.

"Looks like we'll each have one and won't have to share" the taller of the two laughed as Rebecca balled her fists up.

Moving towards her, the men paid no attention to the girl now filthy as she moved from out behind them and to Rebecca's side.

"Well…Batman has breasts" one of the men spoke, licking his lips as he approached Rebecca.

"I've already called the police, so I suggest the two of you leave us alone" Rebecca spat as confidently as she could. Resisting the urge to cross her arms, Rebecca felt her shoulders starting to shake as the men grew closer.

Watching the smaller man's mouth curl up into a smile, Rebecca watched as he nodded to his partner.

"Looks like we are going to have to share after all."

Confused, Rebecca slowly turned her head and felt her stomach sink at the sight of the girl's back disappearing around the opening of the alley. Bewildered, she opened her mouth to shout when a rough hand touched the side of her neck.

"You're pretty."

Feeling the man's dirty fingers against her skin, Rebecca whipped her head forward and brought her palm up flat, squarely smacking it into the soft flesh of the man's nose. Turning to run down the narrow alleyway, Rebecca felt a hand firmly grip the back of her jacket as she was thrown violently against the brick wall. Looking up through dizzy eyes at the smaller of the two men standing right above her, her eyes caught quick movement as something large seemingly dropped out of the sky from above.

Throwing his gloved fist straight out, the man clothed in black and armor dropped the taller of the two men in a split second as the second man standing above Rebecca whirled around with a jagged hunter knife.

"He has a knife" Rebecca choked out as she rolled onto her hands and knees and stood on shaky feet. Throwing her hands against the brick wall, she followed it down the alley way as a bloody scream echoed from behind her.

Kicking the man's limp body off his steel toed boot, the Dark Knight's eyes focused on the jacketed individual that was having trouble walking in a straight line. Watching as the body found the alley's mouth way, Batman threw out a grappling hook as he felt the ground disappear from beneath his feet in favor for the building's rooftop.

Closing her eyes as she breathed the cool air in deeply, Rebecca felt dizzy as she steadied herself against the brick wall. Hearing the sound of fabric flapping behind her, she opened her eyes as she moaned in annoyance.

"Just leave me be, please" Rebecca whispered as a loud thump sounded from her left side just as the low growl sounded against her ear.

…

Feeling her legs being swung up off the dirty ground, Rebecca's eyes fluttered open before closing once more.

"I can walk" she moaned as the sound of the tumbler's roof pulled back to reveal two leather seats. Looking up to his face, she could see nothing except the outline of his mask and the small flesh of his lips and cheeks as he growled something inaudible. Closing her eyes, Rebecca felt herself being roughly dropped into the passenger seat of the tank as Bruce shouted into her face.

"**WAKE UP REBECCA!"**

Throwing her eyes open as Bruce took a seat behind the wheel and gunned the engine, Rebecca adjusted herself in her seat as she pressed the palm of her hand against her temple.

"Always to my rescue, how did you know where I was?" she muttered as Bruce steered down the dark road and took a hard right to head out of Gotham's central core.

Looking over to his wife in the seat next to him, Bruce Wayne ripped off his mask and tossed it onto her lap.

"You have a concussion Rebecca. Either stay awake on your own, or I'll keep you awake" he threatened as he wiped his face with the back of his gloved hand.

"I'm not going to…"

Sticking his gloved fingers in his mouth, Bruce ripped his glove off and threw his hand out against Rebecca's hyoid in the middle of her throat.

Her piercing scream rang out inside the tight space of the bullet proof vehicle as Rebecca roughly pushed his hand away from her body.

"I told you to stay awake."

…

Feeling warmth on her cheek, Rebecca slowly opened her eyes as she focused her vision on an antique wooden table with intricate carvings.

Blinking, Rebecca slowly sat up and clutched the thin cream colored sheet against her chest. Pulling it away, she noticed that she was completely naked and closed her eyes as the growing headache blew into her brain. Looking to the drawn window, she squinted her eyes as the sunlight poured onto the rug of the floor when it suddenly hit her as to the bedroom and the bed that she had been sleeping in.

"We didn't sleep together last night Rebecca, if that's what you're wondering."

Throwing her eyes to the far corner of the room, Rebecca watched as Bruce raised a steaming cup of coffee up to his lips and took a sip. Setting it down onto the table beside his chair, Bruce took up a second white cup and walked to the side of the bed. Leaning down he offered it as Rebecca gingerly accepted the cup.

"You're welcome."

Looking around, she recognized the room as their old master bedroom before the fall of their marriage, except with changes.

"You're girlfriend has nice taste" Rebecca offered as she took a sip of the hot, freshly pressed coffee between her fingers.

Halting the rim of the cup inches from his lips, Bruce stared at the woman in his bed.

"Actually, she has never set foot in this house. The overhaul was at my direction."

"I'm surprised."

Catching the tone to her voice, Bruce knew that she was being coy.

"And why would you be surprised? I'm sure you've tried to cleanse your life of painful memories too" he spoke as Rebecca swallowed hard, suddenly in no mood for the scalding cup of coffee.

"What happened last night?" she whispered, leaning over and resting the mug on the bedside table.

Reclining back into his chair, Bruce crossed his arms over his chest as he stared directly into her face.

"Well Rebecca that is what I would like to know. Paul called Alfred to let him know that you were arriving a day early. Naturally, Alfred told me as your track record for personal safety is not the most impressive. Finding you last night, was completely by chance." Touching the right side of his cheek, Bruce nodded his head.

"You'll have quite the bruise developing in the next few days."

"No, what happened last night, between us?" Rebecca questioned as she shook her head.

Keeping his eyes on hers, Bruce breathed out hard.

"We kissed."

The bedroom fell silent as Rebecca closed her eyes and tried to remember the night before this morning…

_(Flashback)_

_Even without opening her eyes, Rebecca knew that she was inside the bat cave._

_The sounds of water, the gentle humming of the bats that were perched overhead, the cool feel of the air that was distinctively a feature of below level ground._

"_Why didn't you bring our daughter with you?" Bruce's voice rang out from somewhere close in the dark, unlit area._

"_I didn't think a divorce proceeding warranted to presence of a three year old" Rebecca muttered as she rolled onto her side and straightened herself up on the stainless steel table. A table that she had once laid on before._

"_I would have liked to have seen her" Bruce spoke again at a closer range._

_Opening her eyes fully, Rebecca saw the man emerging from the shadows, sweaty in the face, dressed in a white t-shirt and black sweatpants. Running both hands through his dark hair, Rebecca watched as the strands stood up in most places._

"_I've never kept her from you Bruce."_

_Not offering a reply, Bruce came to stand beside the steel table and looked to Rebecca's face._

"_You would be more comfortable above ground."_

_Raising her eyes to the stalactite ceiling, Rebecca took in a shaky breath._

"_I can't."_

_Shifting his weight, Bruce slowly raised his hand and lightly touched the tips of his fingers to Rebecca's cut cheek._

"_I don't have a concussion Bruce, I just want to sleep after a very long day" she offered, pulling away from his not entirely unwelcomed touch._

"_Wayne Manor does have more than enough adequately spaced bedrooms" he pointed out as Rebecca closed her eyes and grimaced. "It also has a steady supply of Tylenol for the painful headache you are trying to mask."_

_Keeping her eyes closed, Rebecca suddenly blurted out what had been on her mind all evening._

"_The women's shelter."_

"_What about it?" Bruce muttered as he felt Rebecca's fingers grazing over his hand. Feeling her fingers firmly gripping his own ring less digits, Bruce focused his eyes on their hands._

"_It means something to me" Rebecca answered as she withdrew her hand into her lap._

"_My gesture won't change anything; nor will it ever change anything between us. Not our situation. I can't even call it a gesture of love. I would only hope that you see it as that I would never hurt you or Isobel" Bruce spoke as Rebecca turned to face him._

"_Bruce, I've been in love with you since the first moment I saw you at my father's party. You…"_

_Her words were cut short as Bruce leaned close and lightly brushed his lips against hers._

"_To think that I could have lost you had I been five minutes later…" he began as Rebecca brought a hand up against his cheek._

"I…I have a plane ticket, to leave Gotham later this evening…" Rebecca stammered as Bruce cut in.

"After last night, you are in no condition to sign anything legally binding. Besides, my lawyer is no longer available for today" Bruce spoke as he rose to his feet.

Staring hard at her lawfully wedded husband, Rebecca felt cold as what she feared to happen was slowly coming true.

_Into the belly of the lion you will go. But will you manage to crawl out?_

"I'm not staying here Bruce, with you" Rebecca spoke curtly as Bruce took along glance out of the window and onto the courtyard.

"Wayne Manor is just a solid brick and stone structure. Not a home anymore of any sort."

"Where are my clothes?"

Turning back around to face his spouse, Bruce made his way to stand at the foot of the wooden sleigh bed as Rebecca kept the sheet against her chest.

"Your shirt was full of blood, and the knee of your pants was torn clean out. Most likely from you scrambling around in the alley."

"Are you telling me that I have no clothing to wear?" Rebecca questioned with wide eyes as Bruce reached down and took up his coffee cup. Finishing off the last dregs, he scoffed as Rebecca sat still in the middle of the large bed.

"Remember who you are still married to Rebecca. I had Calvin Klein bring round one of everything in their store in your size."

"Stop."

Looking at the woman in the bed, Bruce crossed his arms once more in a show of irritated frustration.

"Stop what Rebecca?"

"Stop this. Stop…I'm here to sign our divorce papers and leave. I have no wish to be in this damn city any longer than I have to. Isobel is home in Montreal, and I don't want to leave her for too long."

Leaning on the edge of the bed, Bruce stared hard before opening his mouth.

"Perhaps I should have left you in that alley" he spat as he quickly reached down and roughly grabbed the comforter and ripping it off the young woman sitting up in his bed. Letting out a shriek, Rebecca felt herself falling over the edge of the bed as she landed hard, half wrapped in the fitted sheet onto the antique rug floor.

…

**Hello to All! I hope everyone who stops by is enjoying my story. My story is dark, but to me, the story of the Batman has always been a dark one. I appreciate any and all reviews and hope you all enjoy! For the character of Bruce Wayne I am sticking with Christian Bale. For Rebecca Middleton I have actress Rebecca Hall in mind. And for Isobel Middleton, I have actress Amelia Warner in mind for when she makes her debt in a few more chapters. **


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 7**

Slowly opening the bedroom door, Rebecca listened for the hint of any movement before stepping through and out into the carpeted hallway. Looking to her right before slowly walking down the left side of the hallway, Rebecca grimaced as the floor plan of Wayne Manor visualized in her mind.

"One never forgets the enormity of this place" she whispered as she rounded the marble pillar and slowly took to the descending stairs one at a time.

Rolling up the sleeves of her long black top, Rebecca felt the pings of both nerves and slight fear in the pit of her stomach as she heard dishes clanging together in the kitchen sink not far from where she stood. Slowly rounding the corner, Rebecca stood in the middle of the open doorway and felt her heart sink as she watched the back of Alfred Pennyworth.

"Hello Alfred."

Feeling the white porcelain coffee mug slide out of his wrinkled fingertips, Alfred drew in a deep breath as he slowly turned around and took in the young woman standing in the doorway.

It was painfully obvious that the young chestnut haired mother had lost at least two stones off her tall, lithe frame since the last time he had seen her; three years ago. Her cheek bones were now more pronounced and her eyes now held an unquestionable wisdom that came from years of 'doing it yourself and young motherhood.'

"Mrs. Wayne" Alfred whispered as he allowed his lips to fall into a worried smile.

Stepping into the kitchen, Rebecca looked around quickly as her eyes caught the familiar jars that lined the old wooden antique hutch.

_Tea, coffee, and Alfred's stash of petty cash._

Feeling the sting of tears at the corner's of her eyes, Rebecca allowed herself to be enveloped into the warm, strong arms of Alfred Pennyworth as she returned the long overdue hug.

"I've missed you so much Alfred" Rebecca whispered as Alfred uncharacteristically planted a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"I know m'am. I know" Alfred soothed as he released Rebecca.

Letting out a nervous laugh as she wiped the corners of her eyes, Rebecca folded her hands together against her stomach before pressing her palms against the sides of her legs.

"It's good to see you Alfred. You're looking well" Rebecca smiled as Alfred walked to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair; nodding his head.

"If you'd like to have a seat, I shall make a pot of tea" Alfred assured as Rebecca made her way to the lined jars on the hutch. Taking down the jar far left of the petty cash container; Alfred smiled as he watched her place a single bag into the brown tea pot.

"For three years Alfred, I've been making my own tea. Please let me help."

Nodding his head in acceptance, Alfred slowly took in a seat in the wooden chair and allowed himself for the first time in over twenty years to be served.

…

Throwing his left fist hard into the black punching bag, Bruce ignored the sharp ripping pain that tore through his bare knuckles as he immediately followed it through with his right.

Finishing the first set of fifty repetitions, Bruce flexed all ten of his fingers as the blood from his knuckles coated his palms.

"_Keep this up Bruce, and not even the gloves of Batman will offer you any comfort"_ Thomas Wayne's voice broke out in his head as Bruce sat down heavily on the weight bench.

"_You're taking your anger out because of your personal frustrations with your wife"_

Running his fingers through his short brown hair, Bruce closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head against the wall as his ears pricked up at the sound of the closed door slowly opening.

Had it been Alfred, a knock would have preceded the opening of the door.

And this person was not Alfred Pennyworth.

Hearing her footsteps slowly crossing the mats on the elaborate gym floor, Bruce opened his eyes to see Rebecca pulling her fingers away from the punching bag with a worrisome expression.

"Is this, how you…train?" Rebecca's words broke out softly as she took in the sight of the blood on the ends of her fingers.

"It's one method" Bruce replied as he took in the state of his flesh torn knuckles.

"Why do you do this to yourself?"

Hearing her whisper, Bruce lifted his eyes to focus on her awkward stance as she slowly pushed her hand against the leather punching bag.

"Shit, that smarts" Rebecca swore as she shook her hand.

Rising to his feet, Bruce walked across the mats and passed Rebecca as he leaned down and took up a roll of black tape between his fingers.

"This helps with the pain" Bruce spoke from behind Rebecca as she stepped out of his way.

"Bruce, your hands."

Looking down to his bleeding knuckles, Bruce shook his head as he pulled hard on the black tape.

"I've felt more pain than this Rebecca" he replied as he reached for her hand.

"What are you doing?" Rebecca breathed as she pulled away from the man dressed all in loose black fitted clothing.

"You want to hit the bag, some person, or even…me, you need to tape your hands for protection" Bruce lectured as he caught a flash of irritation in Rebecca's eyes.

"Not like this, this is how Batman fights" Rebecca spoke with a shaky voice as Bruce tossed aside the roll of tape.

"If you were in a boxing gym you would be expected to have your hands taped up. This is my gym, you want to play? You get taped up."

Lowering her eyes down onto Bruce's hands, Rebecca could see that the man standing only a few feet away in distance was feeling the sting of exposed torn flesh hanging off his knuckles.

"You need to clean your knuckles before they get infected."

Hearing Rebecca's tone of concern, Bruce tiled his head and fixed a hard gaze on his wife's profile.

"I'll make you a deal. Take a good shot at the bag, and I'll tend to my wounds."

Throwing her eyes onto Bruce's face, she searched for any sign of doubt before turning away and walked up to the punching bag. Sizing the bag up and down, she felt a slight intimidation as the hard leather stared inches from her face.

"You need to step back, put at least four feet of distance between you and your opponent" Bruce spoke as Rebecca shook her head.

Wanting desperately to curl his lips as Rebecca ignored his words; Bruce walked around to the back of the bag and steadied his strong hands with a firm grip.

"Go ahead Ms. Middleton, give it your all."

Looking up through her bangs, Rebecca felt the spark in her stomach as she glared straight into Bruce Wayne's eyes.

"_Go ahead, hit the bag or hit the billionaire" _her mind blared as she raised her fists and threw the weakest punch the man behind the bag had ever seen.

"Did that hurt?"

Cradling her hand against her stomach, Rebecca bit the inside of her lip as she stared down the man standing beside the punching bag.

"I'd be lying if I said no. I'm sure my face somehow gives it away" Rebecca replied as she watched Bruce leave the bag and stride past her. Crossing the black matted floor, Rebecca watched as Bruce began riffling through a wooden box before coming up with an antiseptic bottle and a white towel.

Taking a seat on the weight bench, Bruce ignored Rebecca's eyes as he opened the bottle and dumped half of the bottle's contents onto the towel. Swallowing hard, Bruce wrapped the soaking wet around his flesh torn knuckles and let out a low growl.

"I suppose Alfred is the one who usually sews, cleans, and dresses all your wounds?" Rebecca breathed as Bruce clenched his hands together increasing the sensation of pain.

"Not as often as you think" he breathed as Rebecca took a slow seat beside him.

"Your…girlfriend then" Rebecca whispered as she watched Bruce slowly unwrapping his hands from the towel. "Is she…does she also…" Rebecca began as Bruce tossed aside the bloody towels.

"Does she scramble over rooftops at my side?" Bruce finished as he avoided Rebecca's eyes on his stubbled chin.

"Yes, though she is slowly in the act of retiring."

Sucking in a deep lungful of air, Rebecca raised her eyes and focused on the white towels that were now stained with Bruce's blood.

"Was she with you last night when you happened upon me in the alleyway?" she whispered as Bruce shook his head.

"Selina has been busy planning a function for a department at Wayne Enterprises."

_She has a name. My replacement now has a name_ Rebecca's voice whispered through her head as she interlaced her dry fingers.

"Selina" she tasted as Bruce stood to his feet.

"She works for you then. Both in professional and personal circumstances" Rebecca noted out loud as Bruce pulled up the hem of his black t-shirt and pulled it fully over his head before tossing it onto the bench beside Rebecca.

Averting her eyes almost immediately, she felt stupid for such a plainly obvious gesture made in front of Bruce Wayne.

_But he's no longer my husband. His heart, mind, and attention belong to someone else. Someone who can match him both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman. _

_Something I can never do._

Catching her eyes for only a brief second after he had discarded his sweaty shirt, Bruce stared down at the young woman who was sitting only two feet away in distance.

_Of course she won't look at you Bruce; not only have you disclosed the name of your new girlfriend, but you've also thrown into her face the fact that Batman has a semi crime fighting partner_ Martha Wayne's voice broke out as Bruce looked to the door of the home gym.

"I'm going to take a shower. If you haven't yet had breakfast, eat something light as I'd like you to come for a walk with me" and with that, Bruce proceeded towards the door without a look back as Rebecca unfolded her hands and stared hard at the back of his head.

"Excuse me?" she seethed after Bruce had exited the room and the door had been pulled shut.

"I'm not here by choice Bruce Thomas Wayne" Rebecca spat as she stood up on her feet and walked determinedly back towards the black leather punching bag. Eying the bag fully from the top to the bottom and once more back up, Rebecca took four steps back and with two tightly balled up fists, threw the entire weight of her body against the bag.

Feeling the incredible sting through the tears in her wet eyes, Rebecca bit her tongue as she suppressed a mighty cry before feeling the uncontrollable pings of laughter creeping up into her throat. Letting the sounds of laughter fall out of her mouth and around her body, Rebecca regained her posture and made her way towards the door where Bruce had exited only moments before.


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 8**

**Song(s): Magic (Coldplay)**

Closing his eyes, Bruce continued to step forward into the steady stream of hot water until he felt the scalding heat radiating deep down into his tense shoulders.

Bringing his hands up, he squeezed his shoulders hard as the image of Rebecca's awkward stance entered his mind…

"_Shit, that smarts."_

_Try getting thrown off a twenty foot building after dislocating your left shoulder in a fight with two assholes so hopped up on crack their eyes are dilated _he thought as he pushed his face into the streaming water.

Slamming his hand down on the silver faucet, Bruce stepped out and grabbed a large white towel before wrapping it around his naked waist. Wiping the condensation from the mirror, he stared at his reflection and into his greenish brown eyes as his mind wandered to Selina.

"Two women in my life. One I can't live without, and the other I can live without" Bruce muttered as he stared into the mirror.

"She is asking for something impossible of me. There is a need for the Batman in Gotham City. Anyone can see that" he spoke as the image of his three year old daughter popped into his head.

"What kind of father would I ever be to her?"

Staring silently at his features, he almost willed them to give off some sort of answer before he exited the bathroom and stopped dead in the doorway of his bedroom.

"You already had breakfast I take it?" Bruce questioned as he walked to the opposite side of the room from where Rebecca was seated, looking comfortable in his mother's old wooden chair.

"For some reason this morning, I find myself not hungry" Rebecca replied as she watched Bruce open a set of chest drawers. Opening her mouth to speak, her words were caught in her throat as Bruce tossed aside the towel that had been firmly secured around his waist.

_Christ, he's doing this on purpose _she thought as her eyes fell upon a black and white framed photograph of her father and mother in law.

"What time will your lawyer be available tomorrow?"

Zipping up his black dress pants and pushing the end of the leather belt through the buckle, Bruce turned around and caught the flawless skin of her profile.

"You know? I really should get in touch with her. Perhaps have her over for dinner. A sort of pre-consultation. She's wanted to meet you for some time now" he replied as Rebecca turned and fixed her eyes on his.

Feeling her mouth dropping slightly, Rebecca pushed her lips together as she crossed her panted legs.

"She probably assumes that I am a gold digger who purposely became pregnant so early into our marriage as an added security" she muttered as Bruce immediately shook his head.

"Rachel is my oldest friend. And she's never held an ill will or thought against you" Bruce truthfully spoke as he slowly walked towards his seated wife.

"And if she's not available tomorrow?" Rebecca spoke, raising her eyebrows as Bruce crossed his arms rather defensively.

"Then Isobel may as well come here until she is available" he tested, watching Rebecca's face for any hint of a twitch.

"Can I ask about the divorce papers?"

Uncrossing his arms, Bruce shoved his hands into his pockets not wanting to take a seat.

"You want to know what you're worth to me?" he sneered knowing full well that it would irritate her.

"You know that I don't want anything from you. No property, no money, no titles."

"Titles? Well, good luck with trying to avoid divorcee and the soon Ex Mrs. Wayne will be all over the papers no matter how hard I have my lawyers try to bury it" Bruce spoke as Rebecca interrupted him.

"I just want Isobel to have a normal life. Please, let me see the papers" Rebecca half begged as Bruce walked over to the side table by the bed for his flashing Blackberry.

"Scared you'll find something you don't like? A stipulation? A custody order?"

Feeling the blood in her veins run cold, Rebecca met his eyes and held his stare.

"Are you filing for custody of our daughter? Full, partial or anything?" she asked, terrified of his answer. _If he ever filed, I would use every last penny to my name to fight it _Rebecca thought as Bruce held her stare.

"No."

Breathing out the breath she didn't know she was holding in, Rebecca offered her thanks.

"I didn't do it for you Rebecca" Bruce replied curtly as the room fell into silence.

"You wanted to go for a walk on the grounds?" Rebecca's voice broke as Bruce began walking towards the bedroom door.

"You've never seen the whole grounds of the estate. Perhaps you should relay the images back to Isobel."

"Bruce, I am not keeping her from you."

"But you won't let her come here?" Bruce questioned as they rounded the marble pillar before descending the grand staircase in a perfect unison of step.

"It's for her own protection" Rebecca replied as they reached the bottom stair at the same time.

"Jesus Rebecca, the gated estate in the palisades with nearly a ten minute drive from the road to the manor and endless security cameras. What more do you want for her?" Bruce spat as he reached into the closet for his long black pea coat. Handing it off to Rebecca, he grabbed his set of keys off the wooden table and held open the intricately carved wooden front door to the manor house.

Stepping out into the cool crisp morning air of the countryside, Rebecca felt Bruce's arm bump into her shoulder as she looked up to his freshly shaved chin.

"What I want for Isobel, is a father that knows for certain that he will return home after a day's work. Not battered and bruised with the blood of his victims ingrained on his knuckles" Rebecca spoke as she felt Bruce's arm knock once more against her shoulder.

Sucking in a deep breath, Bruce halted in his steps as Rebecca felt his hand firmly gripping her fingers.

"Is that what you think I do every night? Go out and beat the living shit out of people? These _people _like the ones last night in the alleyway would have probably raped you Rebecca had I not been there to stop them. I like to think that Batman does some good in this city for its citizens."

Fixing her eyes firmly on Bruce's chin, Rebecca squeezed his fingers hard before twisting out of his grip.

"What worries me is how you are when you are the Batman and when you take off the mask. You scare me and at times I could feel that you were Batman very much when you had returned to the costume of Bruce Wayne. It's like there was no divide, no splitting of the personalities" Rebecca spoke as she raised the back of her hand and lightly touched Bruce's cheek.

"Gotham needs Batman Rebecca" Bruce whispered as she lowered her hand back down to her side.

"I know, and you will continue to do this until you die."

…

Pushing shut the door to the cupboard under the stairs; Alfred J Pennyworth stood still and listened for any movement in the surrounding rooms.

_Mr. and Mrs. Wayne must have left for the grounds already_ he thought as the nearest phone in the kitchen began to ring with determination. Straightening his black vest, the blue eyed British gentleman made his way towards the kitchen and as he rounded the corner, he spoke his thoughts out loud.

"Lord, I ask you to please let them work out their differences. Master Bruce needs her."

Grabbing the white handle, Alfred pressed the receiver to his ear.

"Wayne Residence."

"Hello Alfred, I'd like to speak to Bruce please."

Feeling the distaste of even her voice in his mouth and throat, Alfred slowly closed his eyes as he smiled.

"I'm sorry Miss Kyle, but Master Wayne is not available for the rest of the day's entirety. Perhaps if you try his office tomorrow afternoon?"

Hanging the receiver up with a smile, Alfred looked to the ticking clock above the stainless steel stove and noted that it was just after one.

"Please explain everything to her Master Wayne. Start from the beginning."

…

Pulling up the collars of the black peacoat around her exposed neck, Rebecca peaked out of the corner of her eyes as Bruce took to the descending stone stairs with a fierce determination.

"Where are we going?"

Reaching the bottom of the stairs with the full lush gardens in view, Rebecca took in a deep breath as the fragrant purple and white flowers fell into view.

"Was there always such a garden here?" she wondered out loud as Bruce stepped to her side.

"Always."

"And I want to show you where I first became afraid as a child" Bruce added, completely throwing Rebecca off guard.

"Afraid? Of what?"

Stepping past the tall thin woman who still legally held his last name, Bruce turned back and held out his hand to her.

"Bats."

…

Squeezing Rebecca's hand in his as they maneuvered around an overgrown patch of tall grass and old tossed brush, Rebecca faintly heard Bruce's warning as she stopped in her tracks and allowed him to continue forward. Intently watching the tall, dark haired man reaching down with his bare hands and ripping hard the overgrown cluster of weeds, she almost called out for him to stop until she caught sight of what appeared to be a stone structure with a lid.

Minding the freshly discarded piles of weeds and roots, Rebecca stepped up beside Bruce and reached her fingers out to touch the nailed down, warped pieces of wood that had formed the lid.

"What is this?" she asked, looking at Bruce as he reached down beside the right side of the protruding stone and pulled up a small crow bar.

"It's an old well" Bruce answered as he began to easily pry up a few pieces of the nailed, aged wood.

"And what does this have to do with bats?" Rebecca questioned as she felt a light rain drop against her cheek.

Holding the pieces of wood, Bruce motioned for her to stand at his side and as she took her place against his side, Rebecca looked down into the darkness that was the old stone well.

"When I was ten years old, I was playing a game of finder's keeper's with a friend in the greenhouse. Running away to hide, I didn't know that the old wood I was crouching on was on top of this well. When it gave way, it took me down, and I landed hard on my right arm shattering all the bones" Bruce spoke, touching the sleeve of his right arm.

Peering down into the darkness, Rebecca could see nothing but she could feel the dampness of the cool air flowing up against her face.

"Where there's a dark, damp rocky area, there's…"

"Bats" Bruce answered as he placed his hands gently on the stoned mouth of the well.

Feeling the cold settling into her bones, Rebecca wrapped her coated arms around herself as Bruce took a step towards her and touched her shoulders.

"I had never been so scared in my life" Bruce spoke as he remembered the panic and the flailing of his tiny arms as his screams filled his ears and echoed off the cold stones of the thirty foot drop from the above ground.

Reaching her fingers up, Rebecca touched the hands on her shoulders and felt just how cold they were.

"You're fingers are freezing" Turning around, Rebecca felt her breath catch as she watched Bruce's bottom lip catch against his teeth.

"My father didn't reach me on the repel line for nearly an hour after I fell. After he brought me back up to the house, I didn't speak a word to anyone for nearly a week."

Shoving her hands in her black pants pockets, Rebecca stood as close to the chest of Bruce Wayne as she could without making contact.

"Bats scared you as a child. And you decided to use this to inspire fear into others. Bats are dark, vicious when provoked, and keep a lonely life" Rebecca educated as she touched Bruce's shoulder.

"I'd like to head back to the house, without passing by the cemetery please."

Hearing her words, Bruce nodded his head and stepped aside to allow Rebecca a clear path back towards the gravel road. Walking slowly side by side, the raindrops began to fall more heavily as the couple began to climb the steep stone steps and up towards the five story Wayne Manor.

"Why couldn't you share this with me years ago Bruce?"

Looking to Rebecca, Bruce shook his head.

"You still would have left me."

"Finding out that your husband is a fighter of crime, and has difficulty separating two identities is a bit overwhelming for anyone"

Reaching the top of the stairs, Bruce pushed open the double wooden doors and stepped aside to allow Rebecca in out of the increasing downpour.

"I've never really opened up to anyone Rebecca, aside from Leslie and Alfred. You were and are the only woman that I feel I could ever truly share this with" Bruce spoke, running a hand through his wet hair.

"The Batman is too much to handle. I just hope, for her sake, that Isobel never finds out about any of this" Rebecca whispered as Bruce sat his keys on the table.

"I hope so too" Bruce breathed as he watched Rebecca shrug out of the pea coat and walk towards the cupboard.

"I appreciate what you've revealed to me Bruce, and…"

"Excuse me Master Wayne, Mrs. Wayne" Alfred spoke as both turned around to acknowledge Alfred. "But I have left dinner prepared in the refrigerator and will be off for the rest of the evening" offering a small smile to Rebecca, Alfred turned and left the foyer with the hope that the couple in his presence would continue to be civil for the sake of their child.

"Alfred is off the clock at six, so be thankful that he's left something for dinner" Bruce spoke as Rebecca furrowed her eyebrows.

"Since when does Alfred have set hours?" she wondered as Bruce tapped his fingers on the screen of his Blackberry before also tossing it on the table with his keys.

"Since he's nearly washed his hands of me over the last three years. He lives in the guest house we passed earlier near the greenhouse."

"But he's still here for you Bruce. After all these years, he's been here for you through thick and thin."

"Unlike my lawfully wedded wife" Bruce muttered as Rebecca rolled her shoulders back and looked to the stairs.

"Perhaps I should go back to my hotel" Rebecca spoke with a ting of sadness to her voice.

"I'll take you" Bruce answered without any sigh or protest or apology.

Watching Bruce Wayne reach once more for his keys but neglecting his Blackberry, Rebecca only dared to think in her mind as to what was playing through his mind at this exact moment.

_He's done with you. You've protested enough to being in his presence, that he no longer has any interest in you and would even drive you himself to be rid of you _the voice in her head spoke as Rebecca took a step back and watched as Bruce threw out a hand towards the front door.

"After you Ms. Middleton."

Walking down the gravel road towards the car park, nothing but kicked up gravel met her ears as Bruce pressed his thumb against the keypad and stepped in through the garage door. Following him through, Rebecca heard the beeps of a disarming car alarm and stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes fell upon a familiar black Honda Civic with a spoiler.

"I…I sold this" she sputtered as Bruce opened the driver's side door and ran the palm of his hand along the door.

"And I bought it. Now get in."

Slipping into the passenger seat of the car that once belonged to her in the early days of her life in Gotham City, Rebecca sat in silence as Bruce threw the car into gear and peeled out of the garage and sharply around the garage corner before heading down the gravel road towards the outside gate.

Reaching the main road that would take them both into the core of Gotham City, Rebecca winced as Bruce roughly threw the car into a higher gear.

_He's always been hard on the clutch._

Entering the city off 102nd street, Rebecca began to give instructions to the motel she was staying at and fell silent as Bruce ignored all her lefts and rights.

"Bruce, where are you going?"

Refusing to answer her, Bruce downed the gears of the Honda as he made a sharp left towards a building that Rebecca had feared since the night she had fled after she had brandished a knife to protect herself and her unborn child.

"Bruce, do not take me there" Rebecca whispered as the car slowed down and pulled into the underground parking. Punching in a six number code, Rebecca closed her eyes as Bruce pulled into one of the parking spaces reserved solely for his penthouse.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

Taking the keys out of the ignition, Bruce opened his door and allowed it to slam shut as Rebecca refused to move. Rounding the front of the car, Rebecca looked up with wet eyes at the face of the man who was approaching her door.

Opening the passenger door, Bruce stood aside as Rebecca refused to move.

"I will reach across and unbuckle your seatbelt Rebecca. Then if I have to, carry you across to the elevator and haul you into the penthouse" Bruce spoke as Rebecca slowly took off her seatbelt.

"Anywhere but here Bruce, anywhere but here" she silently pleaded as she swung her legs outside of the car and stood up.

"We have to talk Rebecca and your wish to not be seen at my side in public makes it difficult anywhere."

"No. I refuse to enter this building with you" Rebecca spat as she took a step back and looked over her shoulder at the rows of silent empty cars of the other tenants that lived in the expensive building.

Feeling a strong hand on her left shoulder, Rebecca spun around and felt herself being picked up into Bruce's strong arms before being thrown over his shoulder.

"**PUT ME DOWN!"**

Hearing her scream, Bruce tightened his arm grip over her legs and made his way towards the private elevator reserved only for his residence.

Walking into the stainless steel elevator, Bruce dumped Rebecca off his shoulder and hit the doors closed button as the outside world of the parking garage was sealed off.

"Rebecca, look at me."

Hearing Bruce's soft voice above her, Rebecca got to her feet and pressed her back against the cold elevator wall.

"We're not moving" she noticed as she had a flashback to the last time they were in this situation.

_Our first kiss._

Tensing her back against the wall, she watched as Bruce rolled up the sleeves of his shirt before slowly walking towards her.

"I…" she breathed as Bruce cupped her chin with his hand.

"Need you" he finished, lowering his lips down against Rebecca's.

The feel of her lips straining against his to deepen their kiss only made him push against her even harder. Feeling her back bending against the steel of the elevator wall, Bruce pushed his hands up onto either side of her face as Rebecca tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. Growling against her lips, Bruce moved his hand against the buttons of the panel and with hesitation, pulled his lips away so he could focus on keying in the digits for the penthouse.

Running her hands through his short dark brown hair, Rebecca gripped the sides of Bruce's face and gently kissed her lips against the side of his cheek and chin until he turned to face her again, capturing her lips deeply.

Feeling the elevator rising, Rebecca felt herself being easily lifted to rest off the ground and around her husband's waist. Pressing her back against the cold steel of the doors, she couldn't help but moan as Bruce held her up off the floor and against him.

"Wait" Rebecca breathed against Bruce's lips as he refused to be parted from the taste of her.

No sooner had she closed her eyes than the ding of the elevator sounded and she felt herself being carried into the cool darkness of the Wayne Penthouse, one of her former residences.

Bruce's half stumble found her back being pressed against the breakfast counter before he propped her on the stool and felt her nimble fingers pulling at the buttons of his shirt.

"Fuck the buttons" he growled as he grabbed the ends of her black shirt and pulled it up over her head before tossing it behind him.

Grabbing the collars of his shirt, Rebecca ripped the buttons clean off and with little daylight remaining that shown in through the large floor to ceiling windows in the kitchen area; she gently leaned forward and kissed the middle of his chest.

Feeling the warm sensation of her lips against his bare chest, he couldn't restrain himself as he gathered her up into his waist and proceeded to carry her towards the far back room.

_What in the hell are you doing Rebecca?_ Dana's voice whispered in her mind as she felt herself falling back first onto a mattress covered with only a thin white sheet.

Looking up at her shirtless husband, Rebecca breathed hard as Bruce stood above her at the side of the bed and looked back down into her eyes.

The room remained silent as Rebecca pushed herself up onto her elbows as Bruce began to slowly undue his belt buckle.

_Sleeping with Bruce Wayne will only make the divorce more difficult and painful for you Rebecca. Think of your daughter, think of your sanity!_

Watching the man standing in front of her reach down and pull her towards him on the edge of the bed, Rebecca never averted her eyes as Bruce pushed his hands into her hair and freed it from the low ponytail.

"I love you"

Blinking his eyes at her words, Bruce felt his lips curling as he leaned down and felt his body coming to rest on Rebecca's.

"You're really going to love me after tonight Mrs. Wayne" Bruce growled as he lowered his lips down and nibbled at Rebecca's neck.

…

Slowly opening her eyes, she could see that night had fallen over the city and the interior of the bare bedroom. Stretching her long legs out, Rebecca felt the body next to hers stir slightly and as she tilted her head up, she watched as Bruce's lips pushed out a faint puff of air.

He was sound asleep.

Gathering the white sheet that was curled around their naked bodies, Rebecca sat up and felt the chill on her exposed back.

"Wondering where you are?" Bruce's voice broke out in the quiet room as Rebecca felt the palm of his hand against her bare back.

Looking over her shoulder, Rebecca slowly laid back down and rested her head against Bruce's chest as he brought his arm around her shoulder, hugging her close to his body.

Running her fingers over a puckering of skin near Bruce's right nipple, Rebecca remained silent as she felt his fingers brushing through her bangs.

_Tell him Rebecca! Tell him you want to come back to him and Gotham. Tell him, you'll try your best to understand his need and obsession to be the Batman…_

"Bruce" Rebecca whispered as she felt his fingers graze along her shoulder before pulling her closer into his bare side.

"It was just after I witnessed the man who murdered my parents, fall down dead in the County Court House that I took off for seven years."

Hearing her husband's words, Rebecca realized that Bruce was about to tell her the final piece of the puzzle.

The final acts that brought him to becoming the Batman.

"I didn't tell Alfred that I was leaving. I just…left" Bruce spoke, steadying his voice as he pulled the thin sheet tighter around Rebecca and himself.

"You went to Nepal?" Rebecca finally whispered as she felt Bruce flexing the fingers that laid over her naked shoulder.

"No. At first, I travelled throughout Japan and Thailand, before coming to rest in China. Not first class, but under the guise of a common petty thief. Something I was not use to was not having a single dime. Instead, I stole to survive. Food, clothing…"

"Until one day I was caught and thrown into a Chinese prison camp."

Shifting up into a sitting position, Rebecca felt Bruce's fingers slowly tracing small circles along her back as she pulled the sheet up around her breasts.

"You were in prison?" she asked with curious interest as Bruce shifted up onto his elbows.

"Rebecca, I want you to know all this. I want you to finally know everything" Bruce spoke as he relished the feeling of her warm body coming to rest once more against his.

"It was a daily struggle in there. From other prisoners, to the lack of food, to the hard work. But I wanted to be in there. The prison, at the time, held a number of notorious criminals. Criminals of whom I wanted to understand both mentally and physically."

"So, to prepare yourself, you actually went and purposely fell in with the wrong people."

Allowing the empty bedroom to fall into silence, Bruce tenderly rested his hand over Rebecca's on his torso as he nodded his head.

"After a year, I was offered the chance to improve and increase both my mental and physical strengths with training."

"Training from whom?"

Sucking in a deep breath, Bruce shook his head.

"His name is not important. After I had completed all I could, I returned to Gotham City with the intention of creating a symbol and a purpose with my training, to stop those who were so determined to hurt others" Bruce replied as he watched his entwined fingers fall under the moonlight that had now shifted.

"With such a determination to create Batman, why in the hell did you ever think there was a part of you that could handle a relationship?" Rebecca thought out loud as she twisted her head up and looked into Bruce's eyes.

"I've always wanted there to be more to me than just the Batman. From the first moment I spoke to you at your father's party when you were eighteen, I was memorized by you. Your mouth, your eyes, your body, your mind, and your drive. You were and still are the only woman I have ever fallen in love with" Bruce spoke as Rebecca felt her stomach sink.

_What in the hell am I doing? _

Rolling over onto her back, Rebecca stared hard at the ceiling as she threw her legs over the side of the bed and gathered up the white sheet around her body. Feeling the sheet leave his naked body, Bruce propped himself up onto his elbows as he watched Rebecca leave the room.

_You're torturing her Bruce._

Rising up off the bed, Bruce walked through the moonlight that cascaded out around the room and went in search of Rebecca.

He didn't need to go far.

Leaning against the balcony railing, Rebecca wiped the tears off her cheeks as she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of rushing traffic and horns.

Hearing the door behind her slide open, she winced slightly as Bruce gently wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing himself against her.

"I would give anything to have you and Isobel come back. I would even try to give up being the Batman" Bruce whispered against her ear as Rebecca turned around and fixed a serious eye on him.

"Bruce, you and I know that will never happen and I will never risk our daughter's life for a promise I know you can never keep" Rebecca muttered as Bruce cupped her chin.

"Give me the chance Rebecca."

"T…tomorrow the papers will be signed Bruce, and you will be free from having to give up the one thing that has kept you sane all these years. The one thing that you can't live without" Rebecca spoke as she turned back around to face the cityscape with Bruce's arms still protectively around her waist.

"I'm not sorry about tonight" Bruce whispered as he felt Rebecca's hands on his arms.

"Neither am I."

…

_Wayne Enterprises, Boardroom 4F, 8:23am_

There were more than a few stares directed in her direction as Rebecca made her way down the long corridor with her soon to be ex-husband at her side.

Though they had arrived in the tinted Escalade through the underground parking and had only spoken to Bruce's personal assistant, word has spread like wildfire that the never seen Mrs. Bruce Wayne had finally been seen in three years.

And in the boss's office no less.

Wearing a straight cut black suit with a white dress shirt and matching black tie, Bruce Wayne remained silent as he walked two steps forward of Rebecca down the hallway towards the boardroom.

"You're sure your lawyer will be here?" Rebecca questioned as Bruce ignored the vibration of his Blackberry in his breast pocket.

"She will be there, along with your requested papers" Bruce answered blandly as he gripped tightly the handle to the boardroom and pushed it open. Stepping aside to allow Rebecca in first, Bruce caught sight of Rachel as she slowly stood to her high heeled feet with a pen still in between her fingers.

"Bruce" she greeted pleasantly before setting her eyes for her first look onto the lithe frame of an entirely black clad Rebecca Wayne nee Middleton.

"Mrs. Wayne" she finally greeted as Rebecca gave a slight nod.

Feeling the cold reception to her presence, Rebecca watched as Bruce pulled out a chair for her before pulling out one for himself a few feet away.

"I don't think this should take long, as I understand the dependent in issue has been settled with the mother" Rachel spoke as Rebecca nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, Isobel will be staying with me, out of country" she replied as Rachel shifted her sad eyes onto Bruce.

"And this is accepted by you Bruce?"

Shifting her eyes onto Bruce's stern profile, for a quick moment she felt the fear that he might have changed his mind regarding Isobel.

"Yes."

"Alright, then there's just the question of spousal and child support" Rachel began as Rebecca broke in.

"Ms. Dawes, I don't require any spousal support or child support. I do not want anything that belonged to Bruce before our marriage" Rebecca spoke as Bruce brought his hand up and rubbed his chin.

"And what about anything earned during your marriage? Technically, you are entitled to half" Rachel educated as Rebecca shook her head.

"Nothing."

"As Rebecca is too stubborn to accept anything that may let her and my daughter live more comfortably, I want one half of everything I own to be placed in a trust for Isobel for when she turns eighteen years of age with two percent being allocated to her monthly."

Hearing Bruce's demands, Rebecca felt her mouth open as she turned towards him.

"You can't stop me Rebecca from providing for my offspring" Bruce cut her off as he turned to face her.

"There is the issue of your daughter being named as heir to Wayne Enterprises" Rachel trailed off as both Rebecca and Bruce spoke in unison.

"No"

"To make such an announcement at this time would put her directly and our divorce squarely in the media spotlight" Bruce spoke as he ran a hand through his hair.

"There is one thing that I would like Isobel to have now" Bruce added as he reached into the pocket of his jacket blazer and pulled out a small black velvet box. Placing it on the table between him and Rebecca, he tapped his fingers as Rebecca leaned forward and took the box in between her fingers.

_There's something familiar about this box_ she noted as she looked to Bruce who was staring straight into the eyes of Rachel.

Pushing open the lid, Rebecca felt the tears already starting to sting at the corners of her eyes.

"_Do you think your mother will like them?"_ his father's voice broke out in his head as clear as daylight as he heard Rebecca's sharp intake of breath at the sight of the string of flawless pearls that had once graced the neck of the late Martha Wayne.

"Then there is only the matter of your signatures. Rebecca, you have chosen to legally return to your maiden name" Rachel spoke as Bruce stood up from his chair.

Both walking separately around the edge of the table towards the now standing Rachel Dawes-Dent, Rebecca felt her fingers trembling as she watched Bruce confidently take up the black fountain pen and pen his full name onto the document.

"This is what you wanted Rebecca" she heard his words as she reached for the same pen and felt the warmth of his fingers.

"I would even beg you to re-consider" she heard him whisper even more softly as she touched the tip of the pen to the paper.

"We never had a chance" she breathed out as she wrote out her full name with flourish.

Letting the pen fall from her fingers, Rebecca stepped back as she caught the quick sight of Bruce touching his right eye.

"Ms. Dawes will see you out" Bruce spoke with an icy tone as he stepped aside and made his way towards the double wooden doors of the room.

Not saying a word as she heard the door shutting closed, Rebecca felt cold as his words of eviction rang out over and over in her head.

"You'll also note Ms. Middleton, that this document prohibits you from disclosing any personal details concerning you and Mr. Wayne during your three years of marriage" Rachel spoke as she rested her hands on her hips.

…

Biting the inside of his tongue as he strode past his secretary's desk, Bruce ignored her inquires and slammed shut the door to his office with such power that the framed Blue Nose that hung to the right of the desk came crashing down with an awful shatter.

Ripping off his black tie, Bruce threw it to the ground as he took off his blazer jacket and flung it towards his oak desk.

_Go back there Bruce. Go back to the boardroom and tell her, no, DEMAND! That she work this all out with you. Call the fear and love that you see in her eyes and tell her that you'll take her and Isobel away from Gotham and start afresh._

Resting his hands on the wall in front of him, Bruce took a step back and threw his balled up fist hard into the white wall.

"What is left in my life now besides Batman?" Bruce asked out loud as his office door slowly opened.

"Nothing."

…

**I hope all are enjoying my story! Reviews are appreciated **


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 9**

Pushing her key into the lock on the front door, Rebecca took a deep breath as she took a step back and stared up at the night's sky.

Living in downtown Montreal, it was far too dark to see any stars. Back at Wayne Manor in the Palisades outside Gotham City, one could view all the stars that made up the Milky Way and the surrounding Constellations that lit up the evening's night.

"Good night Bruce" Rebecca whispered softly as she pushed open the front door and stepped into the light of the foyer.

"Mummy!"

Watching the pajama clad three year old bounding up towards her, Rebecca tossed aside her single travel bag and strongly scooped up her curly ringlet daughter.

"I missed you so much" she whispered into her freshly washed, strawberry scented hair as Isobel tightened her arms around her mother's neck.

"Next time, I go" Isobel frankly spoke as Rebecca gave a sad smile.

_Baby girl, there won't be a next time._

Carrying Isobel in her arms, Rebecca moved into the living room where her eyes fell on Paul and Mark seated side by side on the couch, each with a cup of coffee.

Moving to his feet, Paul found himself peeling the tiny child out of her mother's arms as Rebecca shook her head.

"No Paul, if you please, I'll be heading to bed."

"Do as you wish, but we are having a long chat in the morning. Alice has already gone to bed due to jet leg. That little one there refused to go to sleep until you were home" Paul spoke as Mark gave a small wave to the bashful child trying to hide her face in her mother's shoulder.

"I know. And Paul? Thank you" Rebecca whispered as she turned around and headed up the staircase.

"So you wouldn't go to sleep until I was home?" Rebecca whispered as she sat Isobel down on the edge of her bed.

"I missed you too much" the tiny child spoke as she slid off the bed and began walking around the bedroom barefoot.

"Do you want to sleep in here tonight?" Rebecca asked as Isobel immediately nodded her head and dove onto the queen sized bed and beneath the covers.

"Mommy is going to have a bath, and I expect you to be asleep when I get out" Rebecca spoke as she watched her daughter snuggle deep down into the goose filled blankets.

Flashing a tiny toothy smile, Rebecca caught her breath as Isobel's features slowly mirrored a young childish Bruce Wayne.

_I didn't get a look in anywhere_ Rebecca noted as she watched Isobel close her eyes.

Stepping into the bathroom, she left the door open as she turned on the taps and added a bit of lavender powder. Stripping off her clothes, the newly divorced woman relished the feel of the hot water over her body as she closed her eyes and started to cry.

"_You could have stayed with him. He was giving you so many chances to change your mind. All you had to do was tell him" _

Hearing the voice of her long dead friend, Rebecca brought her wet hands up to her face and tried to massage Dana's voice away.

"I've always loved him" Rebecca spoke, looking down at her hands.

"But it's the best interest for Isobel to have a normal life away from Gotham City."

…

Sitting in his dim study, Harvey Dent reached for his black ink fountain pen as he jabbed his finger to mark his place in the red law book. Writing furiously, he smiled to himself as the early stages of his disposition came together before his eyes.

"His crooked lawyers will not be able to prove otherwise."

Pouring over his written case notes, his dark blue eyes did a quick double take as he felt the agitation building in his chest. Twisting his mouth into a grimace, Dent ruffled through a tall stack of manila envelopes at his elbow as he violently threw his pen across the length of the room.

"**SON OF A BITCH!"**

Slamming his hand down on top of the oak desk, he pushed aside all the stacked files and ignored the hardcover law textbooks as they crashed down against his foot.

Pausing in silence with her hand still on the doorknob, Rachel Dawes Dent flexed her hand, feeling the sharp edges of the cut keys against the soft skin of her fingers.

Hearing a series of loud thumps coming from the direction of their shared study, the young dark haired woman gently laid her laptop bag on the surface of the hutch before setting her keys as quietly as she could on the marble slab.

"Honey?"

Hearing no muffled response, Rachel softly padded down the carpeted hallway and halted just outside the door to the study. Spying her husband's head cradled in his hands, she pushed open the door and slowly rounded the corner of his large desk. Resting her fingertips lightly on his white dress shirted shoulder, she frowned as he looked up at her with exhausted eyes.

"I hear your friend Wayne is now back on the single's market" Harvey spoke as he rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"Word sure does travel fast in your circles" Rachel sneered as Dent took her hand and pulled her onto his lap.

Feeling his fingers gently stroking her inner wrist, she relished the sensation as she looked deeply into his eyes.

"And how was your day dear?" Rachel smiled, leaning her forehead against her husband's mop of dirty blond bangs.

"Decent enough" Harvey lied as he watched Rachel reach past his arm and take up his empty glass of bourbon.

_You know that he's been drinking more since becoming the Assistant District Attorney. _

"I hate to see him so unhappy, especially since he has a daughter."

Looking up at his wife, Harvey's mouth fell open as Rachel sat the bourbon glass back down on the desk and focused her eyes on his.

"Let's hope all those billions she inherits won't go to shoes."

Playfully smacking Dent's shoulder, Rachel smiled. "She's three, and how many of these have you had tonight?"

"Clearly not enough to make a decent argument in the Montellia Case I am presenting tomorrow morning" Dent spoke as he smoothed his palm over his wife's lower back.

"Perhaps what you do need, right now, is to relax. I happen to know a very handy technique that gets you every time in your times of stress" Rachel winked as she rose up off his lap and exited the study.

Rubbing his hand over his stubbled chin, Dent shook his head as he reached over for the lamp switch before rising to his own shoed feet. Leaving behind the files and books spread all over the desk and the carpeted floor, he only muttered incoherently to himself as he stepped out into the hallway towards the bedroom.

…

Standing in front of the wide pane of window glass of the Penthouse, the tall dark haired man kept his arms tightly crossed as the slow sounds of high heeled shoes sounded across the hard wood floor towards him.

Stepping up beside the man half dressed from torso to foot in the fire resistant, black armor, Selina brushed her elbow against his shirtless ribcage and looked up to his unshaven profile.

"Do I want to ask how everything went?" she whispered as she felt Bruce step away.

Not answering the woman at his side, Bruce ran his hands thru his hair as he reached for his mask off the side table.

"I'm a newly divorced billionaire who spends his nights with criminals" Bruce replied as Selina stared out the window.

"Shall I join you? Or shall I remain here and prepare the bed for when you return" she scoffed as Bruce turned around and walked passed her entirely black clothed lithe frame.

"You can't stay here Selina" he muttered as he pressed his thumb against the wall panel and without another look, disappeared.

…

_Feeling a cool breeze on her face, Rebecca opened her eyes and tried to pull the bed sheet tighter around her shoulders. Feeling a stronger breeze, she sat up and shivered as she noticed the window near her writing desk pushed open as the curtains blew quite fiercely._

_Throwing her bare legs over the side of the bed, Rebecca reached for the housecoat thrown casually over the lower bed frame and abruptly stopped._

_You're not alone._

_Feeling a pair of masked eyes upon her, Rebecca drew her hand back and sat still on the edge of the bed._

"_You travelled seven hours."_

"_I did." The gruff voice spoke._

"_Why?"Rebecca breathed as she felt gloved fingers trace across her shoulder._

"_For you."_

_Feeling her stomach turn, Rebecca turned around and drew her eyes up the fill length of his menacing black costume._

"_Bruce, why are you wearing that?" she pleaded as he stepped around the bed and stared down at her._

"_To protect you" he whispered as he ran his gloved fingers across her lips…_

Bolting awake, Rebecca threw her eyes to the window and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing it closed. Flopping back down against her pillow, Rebecca moved her arm over her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"I should take some time off from courses and focus on Isobel" she spoke into the darkness as sleep over took her.

…

Shifting onto her right knee for better balance, the young woman dressed entirely in tight fitting black cursed under her breath as the glass cracked between her naked fingers.

"Shit. Just over three years, and already I'm getting rusty" she sneered as she pulled away the main chunk of whole window glass. Gently picking away the small shards and dropping them over the edge of the ledge some sixty feet above traffic, she reached her arm inside the warm room and unhinged the window. Looking over her shoulder, her eyes fell onto the gently lit clouds of the night's sky. Spying the splayed out symbol against the clouds, she grinned as she turned back around to her intended target.

Listening for any sound, Selina Kyle swung a long leg over the window edge and stood tall with her eyes closed.

"I smell…Emeralds" she purred as she gracefully turned on her booted heel and slinked over to the large dark cherry desk. Lightly dusting her palm over the pad of paper settled in the middle of the desk, she smiled as she looked up to the painting of a sinking ship beneath a cascade of waves.

Walking over to the painting, she traced her thumb over the ripped sail of the ship and pressed harder as her thumb easily went through the canvas.

"Beautiful" Selina smiled as she reached up and took down the painting. Setting it gently on the floor, the sight of a small door handle made her smile even wider.

…

Opening her eyes, Rebecca could smell the faint aroma of fresh espresso.

Reaching for her housecoat, she paused before looking back behind her.

"Stupid dreams Rebecca, you are just stressed" she muttered to herself as she walked out of her bedroom. Peaking her head into her daughter's room, she spied an empty bed and a missing stuffed Dalmatian puppy as she headed down the staircase.

Entering the kitchen, Rebecca was met further with the delicious smell of bacon and pancakes.

"Good morning Dear."

Hearing the soft accented voice of Alice Pennyworth from the corner table, Rebecca smiled and moved her arms for a firm hug.

"Dear, you've lost so much weight" Alice sighed as she released the young woman and moved to the cupboard for a second mug.

Pouring a fresh cup from the pot, Alice placed it between Rebecca's hands and touched her shoulder.

"Stress and being a single mother; a great weight-loss program" Rebecca spoke as she watched Alice take a seat across from her.

"Isobel is absolutely beautiful, so much like Bruce. Her features, her smile" Alice smiled as Rebecca nodded her head.

"I would say she has my hair color, but even that can be compared to Bruce's. Where is Isobel?" she asked as Alice nodded towards the kitchen window.

"Paul and Mark took her to the park after pancakes" Alice educated as Rebecca turned around to look at the clock above the stove.

"Jesus! It's 10:30."

"I imagine you're still exhausted from your travels" Alice spoke as she took a sip from her mug.

"Alfred, I've never been so happy to see him" Rebecca smiled as Alice reached out and touched her hand.

"Alfred did telephone here to make sure you had arrived safely."

Looking down to the table top, Rebecca smiled as she remembered his loving embrace around her shoulders.

_Why didn't I have a father like this?_

"If you don't mind my asking, how is Bruce?"

Raising her eyes, she knew Alice would ask after him. It was only fair as she had known him longer than she.

"Bruce, begged me."

Hearing her voice tremble into a mere whisper, Alice sat still as she watched Rebecca wipe the corner of her eye.

"Right up to the point of my holding his pen to sign, he was asking me to re-consider."

"And why exactly did you put pen to paper?"

"I did this for Isobel" Rebecca spoke sternly as she looked squarely into the elderly woman's eyes.

Taking a sip of her coffee, Alice Pennyworth was not about to let the issue rest as she reached out and grasped Rebecca's fingers.

"And in years time when Isobel is old enough to ask after her father, are you going to explain everything to her?"

Pulling her hand away, Rebecca stood to her feet and took her nearly full cup of coffee to the sink.

"When Isobel is; older, and by older I mean old enough to understand that her father had no expressed desire to get to know her in her childhood, then will I explain everything to her."

"Dear, I understand that you are angry with him for keeping so much from you, but you can't deny him his daughter. Or vice versa."

"If Bruce had expressed an interest in a visitation schedule while signing our divorce papers, I would have discussed it. But he's made no mention."

"Rebecca, there is so much that she is going to miss out on without knowing her father. It could be possible that Bruce will come around in time. But it maybe that you have to make the first move and take her to him" Alice spoke softly as Rebecca turned around to face her.

"You are suggesting that I take my three year old child to a man who…" Rebecca trailed off as Alice shook her head.

"She needs to know her father."

Letting out a slow sigh, Rebecca gripped the sides of the kitchen sink and lowered her head.

"Trust me Rebecca."

"What should I do then? Call Alfred and tell him to leave the front door of the Manor house unlocked when he leaves at six? Call Bruce and tell him that I, we are coming back and to throw out the woman that has moved onto my side of the bed?"

"You have given this thought before Rebecca. I know that you still love him, and from the sounds of Alfred's words, Bruce loves you. You've confirmed this to me with his urging for you to re-consider divorcing him and the fact that you are even discussing possible paths to return to Gotham City only confirms it more."

Moving away from the sink, her young green eyes fell onto the telephone that hung on the wall.

"Alice, I'm terrified."

Rising from her chair, the older woman firmly squeezed the younger's shoulder as she watched Rebecca's fingers reaching out for the receiver.


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters. I do not own any of the songs mentioned. They are included to highlight the tone of the chapters and are included for your enjoyment.

**Chapter 10**

**Song(s): Shine (Alexi Murdoch)**

It was to be the second time in a week that she found herself seated in first class on an Air Canada flight headed to the infamous American city that was Gotham.

Home.

_Home._

Closing her eyes, Rebecca tightly gripped her armrests and thought back to her surprise conversation with Alfred; two days previous.

_(Flashback)_

_She had deliberately telephoned Wayne Manor after six in the evening._

_Much to her surprise, the soft Southwark accent of Alfred Pennyworth had answered._

"_Hello Alfred, it's Rebecca."_

_There was no need for the young woman on the other end of the line to identify herself to him. He would recognize her voice anywhere._

"_Good evening Ms. Middleton" Alfred tasted with unfamiliarity._

"_I've called for Bruce" she began as Alfred cut her off._

"_I'm afraid M'am, that Master Bruce rarely graces the Manor House with his presence anymore."_

_Feeling the disappointment growing within, Rebecca licked her lips as she thought to the only reason why…_

_Because there is nothing left. _

"_There is however, an evening gathering a few nights in the near future M'am, that would see Master Bruce in attendance" Alfred spoke as Rebecca shifted the phone to her other ear._

'_May I ask what kind of gathering?"_

"_A fundraising event for Wayne Enterprises; Black tie of course" Alfred cleared up as Rebecca nodded her head._

_As if there was any other gathering that would be associated with the glitz, glamour, and money of Wayne Enterprises._

"_Would there be a way to secure an extra invitation?" Rebecca questioned, knowing full well that if she requested something, anything, her ex-husband's long suffering butler would most likely accept._

"_I had sort of been expecting your phone call M'am; and indeed I have secured an invitation though not in your name."_

_Furrowing her brow, Rebecca took a sip from the glass of water at her fingertips._

"_I'm sorry Alfred, you were expecting my phone call?" she asked._

"_Watching you with Master Bruce days earlier, I felt and observed the love that still binds you two together" Alfred spoke as Rebecca cleared her throat._

"_Forgive me for speaking out of place" Alfred began as Rebecca cut him off._

"_Alfred don't be silly, you are the closest thing to a father that I have ever had, and don't ever think that you are speaking out of line to me. I won't stand for it" Rebecca spoke as Alfred silently nodded his head on the other end of the line seven hours away…_

So it was set.

Looking out of the window to her side, she breathed deeply as she gently pushed in her white ear buds and closed her eyes to the notes of Alexi Murdoch.

…

Tucking her hands into her pea coat pockets, Selina Kyle focused her eyes intently on the white roses as the numerous decorators from Niel's, seemingly all bottle blondes, delicately rearrange the flower heads against the extra green steams.

"Ms. Kyle, are these to your liking?"

Tapping the heel of her Louboutin against the marble tile, the brown haired woman nodded her head before looking down to the screen of her company issued Blackberry.

Those employed by Wayne Enterprise's were more than generously taken care of. And in her case, being the significant other of Mr. Bruce Wayne, allowed her the added bonus of luxury beyond her thirty years of life.

Smiling at the message that had just come through, Selina moved towards the gold rail of the balcony and looked down at the below floors as the decorators assembled the various tables and pristine white cloths. Tomorrow the artifacts would arrive and be placed throughout the three floors and it would be a spectacular sight for all to see.

Thumbing back a quick reply, she smiled widely at the conformation of dinner arrangements at Gotham's newest and secretive restaurant in the Korean District.

"Tomorrow night, it will all come together" she spoke to herself, quite pleased with the way her life had turned out over the past three years.

…

Hearing the tiny clang of the bell above the café door, Rebecca's green eyes hidden behind fake, thick rimmed black glasses, scoured the large open concept seating area for the familiar elderly face.

And there he was.

Seated in a comfortable looking brown leather booth, Alfred Pennyworth had finally started to show his age beneath his never judging clear blue eyes. Lifting his eyes from the cup of tea resting at his elbow, he smiled as he recognized the eyes of a good woman.

Rising to his feet, Alfred held out a hand as Rebecca shook it gently before being enveloped into a warm hug.

"It's good to see you Alfred, thank you for meeting me" she smiled, taking a comfortable seat as a young waitress with a flimsy notepad and pencil arrived.

"Refill Sir? And for yourself Miss?"

"I'll have the same please."

"Coffee will never replace the English breakfast tea" Alfred smiled as Rebecca nodded in agreement. Though she was British born and raised, in the years she had now been in North America, she finally felt like she belonged.

"Does Bruce know…"

Watching Alfred shaking his head, Rebecca knew that he would never betray her confidence.

_You are such a god damn coward Rebecca_

"How is Miss Isobel?"

Feeling the smile crossing her lips, Rebecca looked him straight in the eyes.

"She's the most beautiful little girl Alfred."

Allowing himself to smile, Alfred was about to reach across and touch her hand when the waitress returned with two cups of streaming tea.

"I swear she has more of Bruce in her as she grows" Rebecca grimaced as Alfred pushed the tiny container of milk across the tabletop.

"The Wayne genes are pretty dominant, although as a child, Master Bruce tended to show the softer side of his mother, at least emotionally" Alfred spoke as Rebecca gave a small smile.

"You know him better than I do; then anyone most likely. All his fears, his secrets, what he loves" Rebecca trailed off as Alfred reached across and firmly grasped her cool hand.

"He loves you, and he loves his daughter Mrs. Wayne."

Both held their breath as her former title was spoken over the table.

"Middleton, Alfred" the young woman strongly spoke as Alfred gave a small apologetic nod of the head.

_Perhaps it will return to Wayne, one day _Alfred thought as he reached into his pocket and withdrew his brown leather wallet and a thin envelope.

"Please Alfred, allow me" Rebecca interjected as she laid a ten dollar bill on the table.

Lightly pushing his fingers against the cream colored sealed envelope, Alfred watched as the young woman seated across from him moistened her lips.

"This will allow you entry into the AGC tomorrow night. Wayne Enterprise's is holding a fundraising event for the Antiquity's Department."

"Wayne Enterprises has an Antiquity's Department?" Rebecca questioned as Alfred nodded his head.

"You may find yourself in the presence of a Ms. Kyle" Alfred whispered as Rebecca averted her eyes to a young boy at the counter who was trying to pocket extra mints while his mother fused with the zipper on her purse.

"Her first name wouldn't be Selina would it?" Rebecca spat as Alfred didn't move.

"May I ask M'am, what you are planning to do at the Fundraising event, one evening from now?"

Folding her hands together in front of her white cup, Rebecca shook her head.

"Honestly Alfred, I don't know, but I need to figure it out before tomorrow."

…

_Evening of AGC Wayne Enterprise's Fundraising Event…_

Holding out the invitation between her long thin fingers, Rebecca smiled as the young blond checked off its number before sweeping a perfectly manicured hand towards a full looking table.

"Donations are accepted by personal cheque at the side table" another blond smiled as she reached out and lightly touched her French manicured fingertips against the caps of the lined fountain pens.

"Of course" Rebecca smiled politely as she opened her clutch and withdrew her cheque book.

Taking up a pen, she scrawled with a flourish the number ten thousand, and without folding the paper, laid it gently in the silver ice bucket among many others before taking up one of the generic black masquerade masks.

The money, she could part with. Though she had requested no financial settlement from her ex-husband, it wasn't more than eighteen hours in passing than her bank account had grown by more than forty million Canadian dollars.

This was the first time she had actually done anything with the money in three years. The rest would now go to some other well deserving charities.

Moving towards the sweeping staircase, Rebecca brushed her side swept bangs out of her face and as she ascended the stairs one at a time, the classical notes of a Chopin piece cut in and out of her hearing.

"Champagne Miss?"

Turning slightly to her right, Rebecca grabbed one of the elegant looking flutes and brought it up to her soft lips.

It was damn good.

Taking another sip, her eyes fell on what appeared to be tiny sparkles falling from another level of the building, and as she looked up, she couldn't help but gape at how beautiful the whole set up was.

Three floors to the Autumn Goldwine Center and filled with the highest caliber of Gotham City's most desirable and affluent citizens, Rebecca Middleton took her time climbing the stairs as she was met with another waiter holding out a silver serving tray with more flutes.

"No thank you" she smiled politely as she made her way to the balcony that would afford her the vertigo view of all three floors.

It was spectacular.

Like an expensive cake made of gold, each level of the Center was carefully crafted with an assortment of diamonds, silver and gold trimmings. Various antiques graced the marbled squares and with some items enclosed, many admired the intricate carved details; while others admired the impressive price tag.

"Even though it's for a good cause, I would have rather have made it an early night."

Startled by the sudden voice at her side, Rebecca raised her eyes and focused on the chiseled, clean shaven jaw grey suited man at her side. Holding a half full flute of champagne, the blond haired man gave a small smile as he stepped back and placed the flute on the floor in front of his shoes.

"Are you enjoying yourself Ms…."

She didn't want to give out her name where it might be recognized; even after three years of absence.

_Forgive me Dana._

"Cullen. Dana Cullen" Rebecca smiled as she held out her hand and briefly lifted her mask.

"Ms. Cullen it's nice to meet you" the man replied as Rebecca waited for his introduction.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not from Gotham, you are?"

The man at her side looked slightly taken aback, if only for a mere second.

"Harvey Dent. One of Gotham City's Assistant District Attorney's" he smiled as he took Rebecca's hand and lightly squeezed.

"Impressive. It's a shame that Gotham City needs more than one Assistant District Attorney" Rebecca spoke as Dent leaned down and retrieved his glass.

"It is. But in this city, it's necessary. Everyday it's something" Dent broke off as a group of elegantly dressed Gothamites headed by a woman clad in solid black stepped into view.

Taking a small sip of her drink, Rebecca held the flute against her cleavage as a woman that she recognized stepped out from behind the now dispersing lot.

"Honey, what can I do or say that will let us leave sooner rather than later?" Dent smiled as Rachel Dawes-Dent, dressed equally in expensive black, moved to his side and ran her fingers playfully down his blazered arm.

"Bruce is on his way, and I'd like to say hello when he arrives" Rachel spoke as Rebecca kept herself half turned away, peering out over the balcony railing.

"Well, I will start now for the stairs and hopefully, I will make it to the door without incident" Dent grinned as he fixed his eyes on Rebecca's half turned frame.

"Ms. Cullen, it was nice to meet you. I hope you find Gotham City to be welcoming" Harvey spoke as he shook Rebecca's hand.

"Thank you" Rebecca mouthed quietly as she thanked the mask that was affixed to her eyes while trying not to draw attention to herself.

Turning back around to look over the growing crowds of wealthy citizens, Rebecca felt the presence of someone quite close.

"Is this your idea of a joke?"

Feeling her spine stiffen, she was about to turn around and confront whom she thought was Bruce's childhood friend, when the same feminine voice roughly spoke once more.

"Bruce, you think you can just not show up for tonight? This is for Wayne Enterprises as it is as much for _**US**_! Don't you Selina me…"

Hearing Bruce's name, Rebecca felt deadly cold as the woman spoke her name.

_Selina…_

_Selina Kyle. _

_My replacement._

Downing the rest of her champagne, Rebecca slowly turned around and laid eyes on the tall, dark haired woman who had earlier lead the way up the staircase.

She was beautiful.

Dressed in sweeping Christian Dior, the woman's unmasked eyes fell onto Rebecca's face as she roughly snapped shut her mobile.

Allowing a charming smile to spread across her lips at the sight of one of her guests, Selina moved forward and stood beside the shooter woman as she rested her perfectly red manicured nails on the balcony rail.

"It's amazing at how many of Gotham's finest citizens have turned out for such a wonderful cause" Selina spoke softly as Rebecca silently nodded her head.

"Quite the turn out" Rebecca agreed as she turned to see Selina's red lips purse into a slight grimace.

"Do you work directly for Wayne Enterprises?" Rebecca asked, mentally cursing herself for even sticking around and not excusing herself for the sake of putting distance between her and her ex-husband's girlfriend.

"I do, and this little get together is only one of many for the year. The little known Antiquities Department of Wayne Enterprises will be quite substantiated for many years" Selina smiled as she swept her fingers out over the crowd at her feet.

"Is Mr. Wayne expected tonight?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted her very presence and the idea of showing up at a Wayne Function with the idea that she could change everything between herself and a certain high powered someone.

"Do not pretend that you were not eavesdropping on my rather curt conversation just a few moments ago."

Feeling her blood freeze at the coldness of Selina Kyle's words, Rebecca straightened her posture up to her near five foot ten frame and fixed a determined eye on the woman at her side.

"From what I heard on my end, you sound like a real bitch."

Bringing her hands up onto the hips of her haute couture gown, Selina slowly stepped up to Rebecca and breathed in deeply.

"Hmmm, I don't know who you are, but I don't think I like you" Selina purred as she brought her manicured fingertips up and slowly stroked Rebecca's masked cheek as if toying with a small mouse before the feast.

Shuddering at the woman's touch, Rebecca stepped back and threw her hand up to steady the mask that still covered her eyes.

"You needed worry about me Ms. Kyle. You and Bruce don't need to worry about me interfering with your love affair and crime fighting partnership" Rebecca seethed through gritted teeth as Selina's eyes gave away a quick look of surprise.

Turning away from the woman in black, Rebecca gathered up the excess fabric of her gown and started to descend the stairs. Moving around those poised with their flutes and scotch glasses, hearing the laughter and smiles inches from her eyes and ears, Rebecca kept her eyes down as she moved towards the front of the lobby when she felt her wrist firmly gripped by tight fingers.

Throwing her eyes up, she tried to smile as Harvey Dent held out his hand towards her.

"Rachel insists on staying until Wayne arrives, which means I am planted here; and I would like to have this opportunity for a dance so I am not fawned over by Gotham's charming elderly ladies of society" he smiled nervously as Rebecca took a step back, nearly tripping on her the long hem of her dress.

"I'm terribly sorry Mr. Dent, but…"

"No buts I'm afraid."

Walking towards the designated dance area, Rebecca kept her eyes peeled and constantly scanning around the crowded first floor as she felt herself being taken up in Dent's strong suited arms.

"You're not much of a dancer are you Ms. Cullen" Dent noted as Rebecca stepped on his foot.

"No, not really" Rebecca whispered as she craned her neck around to see a growing gathering of well dressed couples against the furthest wall of the first floor.

_Are you here Bruce?_

Feeling herself being pulled in tighter as the crowd around them became congested, Rebecca reached up and pushed aside the mask that rested on her tired eyes and as she readjusted it into position, she froze at the sight of Rachel Dawes staring directly at her from across the floor.

_Shit_

"Mr. Dent, I'm afraid that I have to…"

Observing his face as his lips turned into a frown, Rebecca slowly turned around and set her green eyes upon the statuesque, solidly built form of her ex-husband who had his hands shoved deep within his black dress pant pockets.

"I believe Harvey, your wife is ready to leave" Bruce spoke lowly, as he kept his eyes firmly on Rebecca's.

"It's always nice to see you too Bruce" Dent offered as he patted the man's black blazered shoulder before giving a smile to Rebecca.

"Ms. Cullen, thank you for the dance, and I hope you enjoy the sights of our city."

Watching Dent pass by Bruce, Rebecca moistened her lips as she prepared her words.

"Ms. Cullen? Is it now?" Bruce whispered as he stepped up and laid a strong hand on Rebecca's hip before taking up her hand in the mode of dance.

Feeling him pulling her closer, Rebecca let out a sigh as she allowed him to expertly wheel her around in a small circle on the dance floor.

"Your girlfriend is on the floor above us Bruce" Rebecca whispered as Bruce breathed in deeply.

"She is the last thing on my mind. You on the other hand, will feel my fucking wrath considerably if you don't start explaining as to why you have suddenly shown up here in Gotham City yet again" Bruce growled as he tightened his hold around her waist with a painful squeeze.

Feeling the pain around her waist, Rebecca didn't bother to struggle in Bruce's arms as she shifted her eyes around and onto the smiling, carefree faces of the wealthy who had not a care in the world but to bid outrageously on the statutes of gold that lined the walls.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry."

Hearing her steady words in a whisper, Bruce held her close as he grazed his lips along her ear.

"And what exactly is it that you are sorry for Ms. Middleton? " He questioned, knowing full well that she would be boiling beneath the surface.

"I'm sorry for leaving Gotham City. For moving Isobel away from you and Alfred, for…signing the divor-"

Feeling her stiffen in his arms, Bruce released his hold on her and took a step back.

"Sorry is a bit late Rebecca" Bruce spoke as a piercing scream rang out among the crowd.

Spinning around, Bruce instinctively threw his arm back and felt the contact of Rebecca's body as another scream echoed off the walls of the AGC.

"What's going on?" Rebecca breathed as Bruce grabbed her wrist and firmly grasped her chin between his fingers.

"I don't know, but I want you to leave right now. Go through the kitchens at the far right, and go to the Manor" Bruce growled.

Before Rebecca could even mouth a word of protest, she winced at his hard shove before he took off into the growing crowd.

_Don't stay Rebecca, get out now!_

Hearing her conscience, she nearly stumbled over her heels as she was roughly shoved into the wall.

"So much for staying away" a woman purred as Rebecca shook her head, trying to turn around.

"Ah Ah Ah, I don't think so" the voice soothed as Rebecca felt the lightest touch around her neck.

"These, are very nice."

Feeling the weight of her diamond necklace being lifted, Rebecca roughly reached up and heaved greatly as she firmly pushed against the wall and spun around to face her assailant.

What met her green eyes made them go wide as she observed a tall thin body dressed entirely in a black tightly fitted suit. Staring straight into the masked eyes of the now obvious womanly figure, Rebecca knew straight away who it was.

Feeling her mouth fall open, another scream rang out and echoed fiercely from directly above on the second floor. Both women threw their eyes up and Rebecca felt cold as a ball gowned body fell over the edge of the balcony like a dove whose wings had been clipped.

The scream chocked in her throat as the middle aged grey haired woman came to rest with a sickening thud mere feet from where she stood. Feeling her whole body shake, Rebecca took a step forward and felt dizzy as the black clad masked woman knelt down and tucked her gloved fingers in along the back of the woman's neck and hair.

Her mouth was dry as more screaming echoed from the above floors, and just as she was about to ask Ms. Kyle if there was anything to be done about the unfortunate woman, she felt sick as Selina Kyle removed the dead woman's necklace and matching earrings.

"We can't have these going to waste now can we" Selina sang to herself as she threw her eyes up to the floors above.

"What the fuck are you doing? You're stealing…she's dead!" Rebecca spat as Catwoman rose to her feet and smiled at the commotion that was taking place from above.

_I may have to keep these guys on future retainer_ she thought as she looked at Rebecca.

"Easier to remove off the neck's of the dead than the living" Selina smiled as she suddenly let out a vicious, blood curdling scream.

Throwing her hands over her ears and stumbling back against the wall of the staircase before ripping the hem of her gown with her heel, a single thought pierced through her heart…

_She can't be with Bruce, she just can't_ the thought rang out over and over through her head as Rebecca froze with fear at the eyes of a man peering over the side of the balcony directly at her.

_Shit._

Throwing her eyes to where Selina Kyle had been standing, she blinked quickly as there was not another soul around her.

"**JACKS! WE GOT A LIVE ONE ON FIRST!"**

Feeling her blood go cold, Rebecca struggled to her feet and frantically rounding the corner, bumped hard into the bat suited chest of her ex-husband. Letting out a panicked yelp, she felt herself being pulled into strong arms as her feet left the ground.

Rising nearly two hundred feet in the air, Rebecca heard the first of the gunshots before she started to feel Batman's strong grip around her waist beginning to loosen.

"Bruce!" her voice panicked just as she was let go completely.

Survivors have testified that at the moment or near moment of their immediate deaths, a mixture of memories floods the mind.

_The first time she had laid eyes on the handsome, yet forever sad Billionaire_

_The first time he kissed her in the elevator of the Plaza_

_Her many dreams of his mind, body, soul, and touch_

_The first time they had been intimate in each other's arms_

_His proposal _

_His fingers sliding on her wedding band_

_The final push she had given before the cries of her newborn daughter_

_The toothy smile of her beloved three year old _

"_Next time, I go" _

Waiting for the hard ground of the floor to put her body at rest, Rebecca held her breath just as she felt herself being roughly captured in an embrace of suited arms.

Falling to the ground, she screamed in agony as the bones in her right arm shattered upon the impact of the floor.

But she was alive.

Feeling the tears pricking at the sides of her eyes, Rebecca slowly rolled onto her left side and cradled her arm as Batman groaned before spitting out a mouthful of blood and saliva.

"Why couldn't you fucking just listen to me" he seethed as he staggered to his feet and hauled Rebecca up to her feet.

"How perfect is this Jacks? The Dark Knight rescuing a damsel in distress. And look! He does bleed!" the older of the two men laughed as he roughly kicked aside the leg of a table that had been tossed about.

"Run for the door" Bruce's deep voice whispered as Rebecca cradled her arm and spun around.

Letting out a cry, Rebecca's eyes went wide as two dark clothed men with pump action shotguns in their arms approached where she stood.

"It's impossible" she spoke with a shaky voice as Bruce turned around and focused his eyes.

Feeling the mask beginning to droop against her eyes, Rebecca thought nothing of it allowing it to fall from her fingers to the floor just as one of the men took a good look at her.

"I do believe we might have bagged the biggest price of the night, Terry."

Hearing the man's words, Bruce turned around and felt the lump in his throat as he took in Rebecca's naked face.

"Mrs. Bruce Wayne is it not?"

Feeling her stomach lurch, Rebecca took a step back and felt Bruce's gloved hand against her injured shoulder.

"Imagine how much we could get for a ransom if we take her."

"Forget it Franks, the woman said nothing about taking any guests. Remember? Nothing that can't fit in a bag."

"I could make her fit in the bag" the low growl erupted from the henchman's throat as Batman slowly reached behind his cape and touched the grapple device that rested against his armored back.

"Those are very nice diamond studded earrings though, I might have to take a better look" Terry smiled as Batman stepped in front of Rebecca.

"Mrs. Bruce Wayne may be a sought after prize, but Mr. Wayne would bring you more money."

Hearing Bruce's words, Rebecca turned in fear and watched as his gloved hands reached up and lifted off the mask that covered his eyes.

"Please…don't" Rebecca whimpered as Bruce threw aside his mask and stared straight at her.

"Holy fucking shit…**FRANKS!**"

"Close your eyes Rebecca."

Breathing out, she could feel the fear rising up in her stomach as Bruce took a step forward just as the sound of a pump action shotgun being loaded erupted not five feet away.

"Trust me" Bruce's whisper reached her ears as Rebecca moistened her lips.

She was not prepared to die here in the Autumn Goldwine Centre, hours away from her daughter, in a city that had brought her nothing but pain, suffering, and death.

Her life now hung in limbo and in the hands of the man who had given her everything a girl could dream of.

A man who had made her the woman that she now was.

Closing her eyes, she felt the tears falling down her cheeks as she was violently thrown down to the cold floor. Throwing her hands up against her ears, it was of no use to block out the screaming, the two shotgun discharges, and the smashing sounds of a large glass window as she briefly felt something heavy fall onto her leg before being lifted.

Feeling a firm hand on her upper arm, Rebecca threw her eyes open and felt herself being hauled up onto her feet. Watching Bruce as he moved over to where his mask laid on the bare floor, she heard his groan as he bent down and picked it up.

"This is never going to stop."

Hearing her shaky words, Bruce re-affixed his mask and trained his eyes on Rebecca.

"Don't start with this now. I never asked you to come back" Bruce growled as he reached out for her arm.

"Just don't touch me. You and Gotham City are going to kill me one day" Rebecca spat as she wrestled her arm out of Bruce's strong grip.

"I'm putting you on a plane, and I don't ever want to hear from you again. If you think I am going to kill you, then do not come back to my City begging for a third and fourth chance" Bruce growled as he hauled her towards the kitchen exit.

…

_Wayne Manor…_

It had been three years since she had stepped foot inside the Batcave.

Over the years, she could see that it had changed, had been altered, with new areas for shelving, and training.

Half falling out of the tumbler, Rebecca felt the cold biting into her bones as she gathered up the torn ends of her dress.

"Why not just drop me off at your private airport instead of bringing me all the way back here?" Rebecca questioned with spite as Bruce flung off his mask and peeled off his gloves.

"Your arm needs to be set."

It was all he offered as Rebecca leaned against the workbench.

Stripping off his top layer of armor, Bruce spied the half empty glass of water and upon handing it to Rebecca didn't bat an eye as it fell to the ground in a shatter.

"Just get me back to Isobel. I wish I never gave you a second thought" she spat as Bruce stood in front of her.

"You and me both, you stupid girl."

Riding up the lift, Rebecca cradled her arm and tried not to give the man next to her the satisfaction of her painful whimpers.

Feeling the warmth of the study enveloping her body like cashmere throw, Rebecca sat down heavily on the cream colored sofa as Bruce threw his arm out.

"Feel free to bleed wherever you chose."

"Take it out of the forty million in my bank account" she spat just as the study door opened and Alfred Pennyworth appeared, completely startled.

"My word! Master Wayne…Mrs Wany..Middleton" Alfred choked as he nearly dropped his tea cup and saucer.

"Alfred, please bring me the casting plaster and a bottle of Brandy" Bruce requested without looking to his longtime friend.

Holding her arm tightly against her chest, she could see the anxiety and concern in Alfred's eyes as he nodded his head and left the room.

"You've never appreciated him" Rebecca whispered as Bruce slammed his fist down on his father's old oak desk.

"And you'd consider having him in your own employment?" Bruce wondered as Rebecca blinked tiredly.

"He misses England."

Knocking on the outside paneling of the double doors, Alfred re-entered with enough medical supplies to revival even the best stocked free clinics.

"You can leave us Alfred."

"No. Please, Alfred stay" Rebecca broke in as Bruce screwed his eyes shut.

"Actually Sir, Ms. Kyle is in the living room."

Both Bruce and Rebecca threw their eyes up at each other.

"Bruce, she's…"

"Alfred, please set Rebecca's arm in plaster. Then call Hanger 7 to have the jet fueled and ready for takeoff. Give a full year's salary to which ever pilot picks up their phone first" Bruce instructed as Rebecca tried to spring to her feet.

"Bruce, listen to me!"

"**REBECCA ENOUGH!**"

Wincing at the furiousness of his tone, she shook her head as Alfred laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Please, don't make yourself worse."

Watching Bruce stride out of the study without a glance back, she refused to cry as she almost felt the slightest hint of relief throughout her body.

_This is final._

…

Slowly tracing her long index finger along the drop diamond of her necklace, Selina Kyle ran her eyes over the framed faces of the portrait.

_Thomas and Martha Wayne_

"He has his father's eyes" she spoke to herself as the sounds of heavy footsteps met her ears.

Turning around, she could see that he was in an agitated state as he moved towards her.

Blinking her eyes quickly, she took in a deep breath before walking towards him and throwing her arms around his neck.

"Jesus Bruce, Gotham City is just worse and worse. Everything we've worked hard for in organizing for the Gala has been destroyed by those…assholes" she seethed, allowing the crocodile tears to form in her eyes.

Pulling away from her, Bruce allowed her hands to fall against her front as Selina leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

"Selina, why didn't you alert me?"

Pulling back, the young dark haired woman wiped her cheek with the back of her hand and set her eyes firmly on her partners.

"God, Bruce if I could of, don't you think I would have? I barely had time to user out as many people through the kitchen exit as I possibly could before the doors were sealed. I couldn't get back in. My weapons aren't as sophisticated as yours remember" she managed to smile as Bruce caught sight of her necklace.

Stepping forward, he allowed his fingers to trace over the teardrop diamond as he brow furrowed.

"Where did you get this?"

Touching the necklace, Selina tilted her head to one side as she closed in the space between them.

"On loan from Tiffany's" she spoke as Bruce wrapped his fingers around the chain and pulled hard.

Giving a violent cough, Selina threw her hand up against her now bleeding skin and focused her eyes hard.

"**WHAT IN THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"** she questioned, looking at her blood on her fingertips.

"More like purchased from Cartier for my wife" Bruce spoke with an icy tone as Selina took a step back.

"That's ridiculous, and how would I possible have a necklace from your wife, ex-wife" she faltered just as her eyes caught movement from the hallway to the living room.

"When you stole it off my neck this evening at the AGC" a female voice broke out from the hallway. Moving around the corner, Rebecca stood, dressed in an oversized plain black t-shirt and blue jeans.

Taking another step backwards towards the unlit fireplace, Selina did a double take as she recognized the younger woman from the night's earlier event.

"You? You are his ex-wife?" she spat, dumbfounded as Rebecca cradled her wet plastered arm in a towel.

Taking a further step backwards, Selina moved herself around a tiny dark wood table that held a vase of fresh lilies.

"So what, you want it back, take it. I've got plenty others" she smiled coyly as Bruce tried to corner her.

"Nah ah, Bats. There are others out there worse than me that deserve your attentions."

"You orchestrated those men tonight. You had them tear the place apart for what? A distraction so you could steal some fucking necklaces?" Bruce spat as he slowly rounded the table just as Selina did the same.

"In a word, yes."

Feeling the rage building within him, Bruce violently flipped the table over as it and the vase went crashing against the fireplace.

She was quick, but not quick enough to escape his grip as Bruce grabbed her arm and flung her against the wall.

Hearing a sickening crack from her head hitting the wall, Rebecca stepped forward as Bruce turned on her.

"Get the hell out of here. **NOW!**"

"I won't let you kill her" Rebecca breathed as Bruce took a menacing step towards her.

"Trust me, I'm not going to kill her, yet" he seethed, grabbing Selina's arm and dragging her to her feet.

"Just like old times, huh Batman? Just like your lonely time on the rooftop while your little wife waited at home" Selina smiled as Bruce pushed her hard into the hallway.

"Are you sure you won't kill me now? What have I got to lose?"

"You are going to take what you have, and you are going to leave Gotham City. You will not come back here; you will not ever show your face again."

Blinking slowly, Selina smiled.

"Is it just that simple to send me away Bruce?"

"This is the simplest decision I have ever made. Now leave" he growled as Selina straightened her back and shot Rebecca a spiteful look.

"I guess its farethewell, Mr. Wayne, Mrs. Wayne" Selina smiled as she touched the back of her head and pulled away a hand tinged with blood.

Watching her disappear into the cool night, Bruce breathed deeply as he caught the sound of light steps behind him.

"Sir, shall I take Ms. Middleton to Hanger 7?" Alfred questioned, keeping his eyes cast on the ground.

Feeling the heaviness rooted deeply in his stomach, Bruce Wayne opened his dry mouth to utter the most devastating of words that he knew would keep his lost family finally safe.

"I don't ever want to see her again Alfred."

*****The next chapter takes place years down the road and introduces Bruce and Rebecca's daughter Isobel. Stay tuned. **


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 11**

**Song(s): Doom and Gloom (Rolling Stones)**

_September, 14 years later…_

Slowly opening her hazel eyes, the young seventeen year old rolled over onto her back and stretched loudly.

"Why can't it be Friday?" she wondered out loud as the classical notes of Chants d'Auvergne: Bailero began to sing from her alarm clock.

Slamming her fingers down onto the snooze button, Isobel Martha Middleton threw off the white duvet to expose her long legs and rose with a struggle to her feet.

"Perhaps I can skip today and catch the James Dean marathon at the Centaur" she muttered, moving to the closed door of her own bathroom. Leaving the light off, she wanted nothing more than to master the art of sleeping while standing in the shower and as she turned on the faucet taps, she caught her reflection in the mirror.

A pale complexion stared back at her through eyes that seemed more green than brown. Shaggy bangs fell to just over her eyes as her long dark brown hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall. She was tall it was true, but to use this advantage for athletics was ridiculous; for sports had never been her thing.

Much to her dismay, she had been forced into martial arts by her mother who wanted nothing more than to make sure her only child had a sensible way to protect herself.

Stepping into the shower, Isobel breathed a sigh of relief and cursed herself loudly for not grabbing a clean towel from the hall closet.

…

Zipping up her red Columbia jacket, the dark haired teenager strolled into the kitchen and was immediately greeted by her beloved "Uncle" with an outstretched hand and a steaming mug of freshly poured coffee.

"You really do have a knack for this you know" Isobel grinned as the salt and peppered haired Paul Hunter smiled back and raised his own cup up to his lips.

"Where is mum?"

Setting his cup down, Paul wiped his lips as he turned the page of the newspaper.

"She had mentioned some test marking" Paul spoke as Isobel rolled her eyes.

"I could count on one hand the number of times I've seen her this week, and it's now Friday" Isobel frowned as she quickly downed the rest of her coffee.

"I'll see you later" she muttered leaving the kitchen and taking up the keys to her black Honda Civic she slammed the red door behind her.

…

Huffing loudly as she adjusted the volume of the car stereo, Isobel silently counted in her head the number of months left before the beginning of summer break.

"Well, less than twelve months anyway" she spoke, noting that mathematics had never been her strong suit.

Jumping at the sound of feverish tapping against her window, Isobel nearly dumped her coffee as she threw her eyes up into a familiar pair caked with dark blue eye shadow.

"Open the door, the rain is fucking cold!"

Hitting the unlock button on the side of the driver's side door, Isobel watched as her best friend since seventh grade ducked in and began to feverously rub her long fingers together.

"I was standing out there for almost a minute while you were day dreaming" Katie Emerson lectured as Isobel threw the car into first gear towards St. Georges School.

"I was really hoping today for a flash flood to hit Montreal, a freak snowstorm" Isobel muttered as Katie leaned forward and turned on the heater.

"In the middle of September? Maybe flurries, but not enough to reach the top of the front door of the school" Katie smiled as she studied her friend's profile.

"Isobel Martha Middleton! Were you actually thinking of skipping classes today?"

Hearing her friend's chiding, Isobel felt her lips spreading into a sly smile.

"Maybe. We've already had our tests at the end of last week, so what of interest would be going on today?" she spoke, slowing the Civic down for the yellow traffic light in the distance.

"I heard something about the end of the year graduation field trip, apparently there is the possibility that it will be opened to students who are not graduating. Something about making up the required numbers for the discounts" Katie educated as Isobel threw the car into second gear.

"Are you serious?"

Turning her head to face her friend, Katie knew that this little tidbit of information would not only excite Isobel but would also start once more with the "what if" questions.

Focusing her eyes on the wet lanes as she steered through the mess that was rush hour traffic in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Isobel had already begun to plan out the necessary steps that she would need to take if the end of the year trip to Gotham City was opened up to her grade.

And the lies that she would have to create in order for her mother to even consider letting her leave the province.

_Well for one, I can't tell her the trip is to Gotham City. Never in a million years would she ever give consent._

_And I can't wait for another year to pass until I am of legal age to just up sticks and leave._

_For my father may not be in Gotham City anymore by that time._

_If indeed he is still there. _

_Whoever he is._

"Earth to Isobel?, Come in Isobel."

Snapping back into reality, Isobel swung the car hard as she overtook the curb that ran along the perimeter of the school's student lot.

"Shit sakes!"

"Sorry about that" Isobel grinned as Katie flipped up her hoodie and tied it tightly under her chin to protect herself from the now heavy freezing downpour.

…

It was true.

Sitting amongst one hundred of her fellow schoolmates, Isobel pulled at the collars of her white issued uniform in a state of agitation as Madame Leary announced, finally, that the final grade graduation field trip to Gotham City was to be opened to the lower grades of the school.

Mentally calculating how much money she had in her savings account, Isobel smiled as she tallied up more than enough for the required payment in full.

With extra for spending cash.

"There are of course, only a few spaces left for Gotham City, and those that are able to pay in full will be guaranteed a seat on the Coach Bus."

_Coach Bus_ Isobel sneered as she felt a poke in her ribs.

Turning her head, she caught the tail end of her friend's words as she felt another poke.

"We need to formulate a plan for staying longer than the three days trip" Katie whispered as she sat back in her seat at the irritated snapping of fingers from the teacher standing at the end of the row.

"Yes, yes we do."

…

What a surprise, her mother was not home.

Tossing her book bag onto the kitchen island, Isobel made a beeline for the French Press and as she poured the remaining black liquid into a white china mug, she heard the shuffle of shoed feet at the kitchen entrance.

"You really wish to drink that? Even your domestically challenged skills can make coffee in a French Press" Paul Hunter spoke as Isobel turned and offered a grin.

"I thought I would prevent a massive kitchen fire by drinking leftovers. Practicing my environmental skills" she replied, licking the dark cold liquid off her thumb.

The kitchen lapsed into silence as Isobel waited for the microwave to beep.

"So, the end of the year graduation trip has a few open spaces for other students."

Hearing her words, Paul nodded his head as he opened his briefcase and took out a stack of stapled papers.

"And the trip is to the United States." She continued, watching as her "Uncle" spoke not a word and took a seat upon one of the dark wood bar stools at the island.

"So the trip is to Gotham City, in March, six months from now. And I am going."

Raising his head, Paul stared at his "niece" expressionless.

"And you think your mother will allow you to go? Sign the permission forms and sign you up for Blue Cross?" he questioned, sifting through his papers as Isobel took a small sip from her mug.

"I won't let _her_ take this opportunity away from me."

Hearing the fierceness of Isobel's words, Paul studied her features before nodding his head and patting the counter space.

"So you'd get to Gotham City by bus, then what? Do you even know your father's name? Or even if he still is in Gotham City?" Paul asked, watching as Isobel's eyes lit up.

"You know who he is. Don't you."

Pushing aside the stack of papers at his hand, Paul Hunter stood up from the stool and strode over to the freshly made coffee.

"Isobel, you need to speak to your mother."

Feeling her face growing hot, Isobel pursed her lips as she took Paul's seat.

"You know I have tried to talk to mum about _him_. Every time I do, she either goes silent; we get in a fierce fight, or all of the above. The Gotham City trip is in March. In May, I turn eighteen. After that, there is nothing she can do to stop me from leaving Montreal."

Her words were truly spoken.

Many times, either he or Mark had stepped in and provided an ear to the young girl who had threatened more than once to run away from all her mother's "messed up shit of a past."

"She can't stop me Paul" Isobel muttered as he rounded the kitchen island and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know dear…I know."

…

Toweling off the wet ends of her long dark brown hair, Isobel paused as she heard her mother's bedroom door being opened.

_Do I really want to mention this to her now?_ She thought as she tossed aside the white towel and pulled on a red Old Navy sweater. Taking a deep breath, Isobel opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway.

"Mum?"

Hearing noise from the half closed bedroom door across the hall, Isobel pushed it open slowly and stepped inside.

"Mum?"

"Just give me a second" the muffled reply echoed from the lit white bathroom that joined the bedroom.

Taking a seat on the edge of her mother's bed, Isobel's eye caught sight of the bulging manila envelope filled with student's papers requiring both a read through and a letter grade.

"Your students see you more than your own daughter" she muttered as Rebecca switched off the bathroom light and approached her daughter.

"You know Isobel; you should make a decision as to which Universities you are thinking of applying to. You only have a year and a half left of high school" Rebecca Middleton spoke as she adjusted the straps of her black tank top.

Flexing the fingers of her right hand, Rebecca grimaced at the lack of strength.

"Maybe I won't go to a Canadian university. I mean, it all depends on what program I am interested in, and some places are rated better, right?" Isobel spoke as she looked to her thirty-six year old mother.

_Never has she ever been one for guidance and advice._

"Don't be foolish Isobel. McGill and Laval are top rated in nearly everything" Rebecca scolded as she lifted up the manila envelope and switched on her desk lamp.

"Actually, University is not on my mind right now. It's the end of the year graduation school trip."

"Isobel, you're not graduating this year."

_Well at least she knows what grade you are in, roughly._

"Yes, I know. But the school is opening up some seats to the lower grades to make up numbers. I already have enough money saved and it would be no problem getting the time off from Old Navy if I give enough notice…" Isobel spoke as her mother interrupted her.

"And where is this trip?"

_Lie Isobel._

"To Ottawa, Ontario. Capital of Canada. Home of the Parliament Buildings, the Mint, the…Prime Minister's House" she rambled, hoping that her mother didn't catch her falter.

Remaining silent, Rebecca opened a desk drawer and took out a yellow highlighter.

"How many days?"

_Lie._

"It's a full week actually. They figured that since it was out of province, they might as well squeeze in enough sights that are not French" Isobel grinned, hoping it wasn't too much for she had always been a terrible liar.

"I see."

Waiting for her mother to speak either her thoughts or her firm yes or no permission, Isobel played with a loose string on her mother's bed sheets.

"You know that in less than a year, I will be eighteen."

Turning around in her chair, Rebecca fixed a curious eye on her daughter.

"Isobel of course I know that. You are my own flesh and blood" she spat.

"Then you know that I have been thinking of going outside of Canada for school."

"Isobel, don't start this again."

"Don't start what?" Isobel challenged, as Rebecca tossed aside her marker and tightly gripped the arms of her chair.

"This nonsense of making a life in Gotham City."

"Well for one, I wouldn't be going there to start a new life. I would be going to find the other half of my family of whom you think is not worth knowing or acknowledging" Isobel spat knowing full well that it would get her mother started.

"Isobel, you have no idea…"

"You're right mum. I have no idea. No idea as to my father's name, what he looks like, who my paternal grandparents are, if my father's a doctor, or a lawyer, or a crooked businessman. I have no idea, because **YOU WON'T BLOODY WELL TELL ME!**"

Hearing the rage in her daughter's voice, Rebecca closed her eyes and remembered herself, only two years older in age many years ago demanding to know the secrets of her lawfully wedded husband and being met with the same frustration.

"He's a man not worth knowing Isobel. You want to know how much he cares? He knows he has a daughter. Yet he's never sent a card, a letter, or even made a request for visitation" Rebecca spoke, trying not to break into tears.

Listening to her mother, Isobel wanted nothing more than to shout out that she was wrong.

Wrong in everything.

_My father probably doesn't even know I exist. She was nineteen when I was born. Prime age for an accident and a quick skip out of town_ Isobel thought as she rose to her feet.

"When the field trip slips are handed out next week, I'll attach them to the fridge" she muttered, exiting her mother's room and crossing the hallway into her own.

"Christ, I will never understand that woman" she spat, making sure to lock her door before turning her ipod onto shuffle.

"There is a good chance that I will not be coming back to Montreal" she whispered to herself as she rolled over onto her side and looked at the montage of pictures depicting friends and her scant family members.

She would have to pack as light as she could.

Clothes and important documents would be first, followed by pictures, and a few keepsakes. Nothing that would stand out in the bag of a three day trip to a destination seven hours away.

Closing her eyes, she wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep sleep and pray that the remaining months before her life altering trip would speed by in a flash faster than the speed of sound.

…

**Thanks to all who have stopped by to read. I wish I had more reviews (hint hint). For the characters of Bruce Wayne I have portrayed by Christian Bale, for Rebecca actress Rebecca Hall, and for Isobel actress Amelia Warner. **


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 12**

**Song(s): Breathe (Alexi Murdoch)**

_March 6th (one day before departure)…_

Adjusting her dangling earring, Rebecca Middleton hopped on one foot as her heel caught on the hardwood floor of her bedroom.

The annual McGill Faculty dinner was slated to start in forty minutes, and with the no luck she was having between her shoes, hair, and earrings, she wondered if it would be acceptable to show up in sweatpants and a blouse.

"No such luck" she breathed as she finally wedged her shoe loose.

Staring into her vanity mirror, she applied another coat of lipstick before sweeping her bangs.

"Rebecca, traffic is going to be murder near the Bell Centre" Mark's voice broke out from the hallway as he rapped his knuckles against the wall.

"Right, where is Isobel?"

"Homework, in her bedroom."

Stepping out into the hallway, Rebecca tapped on her daughter's door and found it locked when she tried to twist the handle.

"Isobel?, I'm leaving now for the dinner on campus" Hearing no response to her words, Rebecca sighed and made her way towards the stairs as her daughter replaced her ear bud.

"It's about time" she muttered as her best friend Katie Emerson tossed her pencil and notebook to the bare floor.

"Well Detective, are you ready?"

Shutting off her ipod, Isobel slid off her bed and breathed deeply.

"I've managed to go through her dresser, all the drawers, her address book, hell even her Blackberry. But it's her closet that I need the extra hands with" Isobel instructed as they opened the door and tiptoed into her mother's bedroom.

"Leaving it pretty late don't you think? We leave for Gotham tomorrow afternoon" Katie noted as she followed her best friend to the bed.

"There has to be something. Gotham City is seven hours away. If my father was such an evil asshole who use to beat her up and utter death threats, then she would have moved further away. I'm guessing that she has something relating to my father's identity somewhere."

"Well let's hope it's not in a safety deposit box at the BMO" Katie spoke as she watched Isobel switch on the bedside table before heading to the closed closet doors.

"What if we don't find anything?"

The thought had crossed her mind many times.

As much as she didn't want to think of it, there was the great possibility that she may not find any hints, or concrete proof of who she would be looking for in one of the United States largest and most notorious cities.

Leaving her four day long trip one big needle in a haystack.

"I know we'll find something. Uncle Paul knows his identity and he knows how much this means to me. He won't leave me high and dry" Isobel spoke as she pulled the closet double doors open and switched on the overhead light.

If there was one thing that she had inherited from her mother, it was her lack of anything sort of neatness and organizational skills. Clothes hung off a variety of hangers, skirts, shirts, blouses, pants, and scarves. Some were roughly folded and shoved up onto the top shelf among cardboard and gift boxes, others particularly an oversized black t-shirt was rolled into a ball and rested on the floor.

"Damn, your mom's closet looks worse than my entire bedroom."

"I'm going to start on this side then move across" Isobel instructed as she reached up and grabbed an armful of clothes while at the same time sent a cardboard box towards Katie's head.

"Shit!"

"Yeah, it almost looks like its booby trapped."

…

_1 hour later…_

Wiping her brow, Isobel stood back and looked at the random piles of her mother's clothing and all the cardboard boxes that had been stored on the top shelf.

"We haven't found a single thing Isobel" Katie moaned as she checked her watch.

"There has to be something. She has to have kept something."

"Even a wedding ring with an inscription or a honking diamond with a serial number" Katie offered as Isobel stared at her friend with a questioning eye.

"What? I was doing some researching. Expensive things can have tracking numbers, serial numbers, something that would allow for identification if stolen" She smiled, as Isobel moved towards the closed bedroom door.

"Do you want a drink?"

"Something with a bit of pep?"

"Paul may have some Red Bulls" Isobel offered as she left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen.

The townhouse was empty.

Stepping into the dark kitchen, she flicked on the light and listened to the gentle hum of the overhead lights.

"She has to have kept something" she chided herself as she opened the fridge door. Pulling out two cans of Red Bull, Isobel slammed the fridge door shut and kicked the wooden stool to her right.

"Why the hell won't they tell me about my father?" she muttered just as Katie came bounding down the staircase. Rounding the corner, Isobel could see she was out of breath as she leaned against the wood paneling.

"Jackpot!"

…

"That is one hell of a safe."

Seated cross legged on the floor of the bedroom, both girls stared with disbelief at the sheer size of something that was able to remain hidden behind just a few hangers of clothing.

"Either your mother owns a lot of expensive jewels, or _that_ is what's holding everything that relates to your Dad and it must be something" Katie spoke as she leaned forward and tapped her knuckles against the combination lock.

"I don't suppose your researching turned up safe cracking" Isobel questioned as she looked to her best friend.

"Sorry."

Letting out a sigh, Isobel stood up and walked to the bedroom window. Peering out onto the street below, there were few cars, and even fewer people on the sidewalks.

"_Nothing like the nip of a lingering Canadian winter to keep everyone in doors" _she thought as she turned around once more towards the safe.

"Inches of steel is what sits between my family heritage; what a ball buster."

Getting up to her sneakered feet, Katie laid a flat hand on top of the safe and closed her eyes.

"There's no way in hell we can get into this thing tonight. I think your only option is to sit down with Paul and plead your case for information. A name, a phone number, or an address."

She knew her best friend was right, but she had already cornered Paul twice before with no luck.

"We should go through my bags again to see if there is anything else I can purge" Isobel muttered grabbing armfuls of her mother's clothing and throwing them roughly in the closet, not caring where they landed.

"She's going to notice this" Katie spoke as Isobel heaved another armful of clothes into the shelved space. Giving a mighty kick to the cardboard box next to her foot, she let loose a string of curses before taking a seat on the edge of her mother's bed.

"I don't give a shit if she notices; I won't be coming back here after tomorrow. Montreal, Quebec may be my birth city, but Gotham City _will_ be my home" Isobel spoke as Katie struggled to pull closed the double closet doors.

…

Over the last few months, she had taken many steps and preparations for her secret move to Gotham City. She had managed to save nearly every cent and dollar bill from her part time job at the bookstore and Christmas. Depositing half into her bank account and converting the other half into American, she had made sure that her debit card would be accessible to her while in Gotham. All of her important documents such as birth certificate, social insurance, student, health and driver's license had been neatly packed into her wallet and sealed in a Ziploc bag. She had even managed to sell her car for nearly three thousand dollars, unbeknownst to her mother and uncle who were told it was in the mechanic's shop for new tires and an oil change.

For clothing, she had managed to weed out almost the entirety of her wardrobe save for a few essential pieces. She could always purchase clothing once settled.

"One tan Jansport backpack filled with clothing, and one black shoulder bag with essential extras" Isobel spoke, standing back to admire her and Katie's latest purge.

"Nothing to raise suspicions" Katie added as she began to count on her fingers the number of bags that would be accompanying her on the Coach Canada bus.

"You're bringing five bags? Jesus, and who's going to carry them?" Isobel gasped as Katie smiled.

"Well Miss Middleton, we are in luck. My surprise for you is that my Mother's stepsister Karen just so happens to live in downtown Gotham City, and would love to have visitors and I think we can convince her to let us squat for a few days while we search for your Dad."

"That's perfect!" Isobel smiled as she lightly touched her fingers along her backpack.

"There is one thing that I wanted to ask though" Katie muttered as Isobel snapped open the top to her can of Red Bull.

"What's that?"

"Well, how long are you thinking of staying in Gotham City? I mean, we don't have anything to go on in terms of easily finding your Father, and we're both not rich" Katie trailed off as Isobel shook her head.

"Katie, I have absolutely no plans to return to Montreal. I know for a fact that my father is an American citizen, which technically makes me half American. I've looked at the Visa requirements for visitors and I'm sure I can get a job waiting tables for cash."

"What I mean is, Gotham City is worse than New York City in terms of crime and drugs. I'm just worried about leaving you alone" Katie frowned as Isobel wrapped her arms around her best friend in a tight hug.

"Thanks to my mother, I've got a black belt in karate, and enough smarts to not go out walking in random areas at four in the morning" Isobel responded as they both heard the slamming of the front door.

"Mother's home" Isobel muttered as both girls exited the bedroom and took to the staircase.

Reaching the living room, Isobel spied not her mother's set of keys, but Paul's.

"You know, I should get home" Katie offered, spying Paul in the kitchen.

"Drive safe" Isobel whispered as Katie stepped out into the cool night.

Closing the red front door, Isobel made her way to the kitchen and watched as her Uncle went about making a pot of Earl Grey tea.

"Uncle Paul, can we talk?"

Hearing his niece's voice, Paul Hunter felt his shoulders relax as he tossed two tea bags into the red tea pot.

"Be a dear and get the sugar and milk" Paul instructed as Isobel nodded. Setting the contents onto the wooden table, she took a seat as Paul brought over the pot and two white china tea cups with saucers.

"Saucers?"

"Might as well use them instead of collecting dust" he smiled as Isobel knotted her fingers together.

"Uncle Paul, tomorrow I leave for…"

"Gotham City" he finished, stirring in a heaping spoonful of milk.

"I haven't been able to find anything relating to my Father. I know you know who he is and where he can be found" Isobel spoke firmly, looking directly into Paul's eyes.

"I need your help. Just a name, an address, a phone number, his employer" she offered as Paul raised a hand to cut her off.

"I take it any discussions with your mother proved fruitless?"

Nodding her head, the young girl shrugged her shoulders.

"She must really hate him to never mention him at all" Isobel frowned, hoping Paul would take pity on her.

"I do know who your father is."

Snapping her head up violently, she felt her body starting to shake at this revelation.

"But you won't tell me his name" she affirmed, watching as Paul shook his head.

The kitchen lapsed into silence as Isobel quickly rose from her chair, allowing it to fall back and slam against the kitchen floor.

"This is fucking ridiculous, I have the right to know who my father is, and just to let you know, I won't be coming back to Montreal until I have found him" she seethed through gritted teeth as Paul reached over and grabbed the Sports section of the mornings newspaper. Tearing off a corner, he grabbed a pen off the counter and wrote out a string of numbers.

"Your father is a…complicated man. Your mother left him with you in her best interest" Paul educated as Isobel tried to relax her fists.

"Is he a criminal?" Isobel questioned as Paul stopped writing.

_He's a masked vigilante_

"No." Paul replied as Isobel stepped up to his side.

"Would he ever hurt me?"

Balling up the torn piece of paper, Paul rose to his feet and made for the garbage can just as Isobel caught his arm.

Staring into her eyes, he felt pity and fear. If he gave her the paper in his hand, she would have a pathway towards finding Bruce in Gotham.

"Please Uncle Paul" Isobel pleaded as Paul brought up his hand and unraveled the ball of paper.

"This is a phone number."

Taking the paper between her fingers, she couldn't help but feel a great tidal wave of hope as she felt the tears in her eyes.

"This…phone number isn't his, is it?"

"No. But if you find yourself in trouble, call this number" Paul instructed as Isobel threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"How much money do you have?" he asked as Isobel tried to discreetly wipe away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks.

"Um, about four thousand."

"You're defiantly going to need more" Paul spoke as he and Isobel exited the kitchen, Earl Grey tea left untouched.


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 13**

**Song(s): Fifteen (Goldroom feat. Chela), Million Dollar Man (Lana Del Rey)**

_March 7__th__ (Day of Departure to Gotham City)…_

She had been staring up at the clock face for the last ten minutes, intently wishing that the hour hand would skip all the way to the twelve.

In less than thirty minutes, she, Katie, and their fellow students would board a Coach Canada charter bus and leave on the road for the just over seven hour drive to Gotham City.

She had Katie had stayed up most of the night on the phone figuring out how exactly to give the three teachers that were acting as trip chaperons the slip.

_Flashback…_

"_Well, according to the itinerary, there are a few places where we could easily give the slip such as the baseball game between the Blue Jays and the Griffins, Chinatown, Gotham Square, or Wayne Enterprises" Katie rhymed off as Isobel traced a blue ink circle around the words Gotham Square._

"_Gotham Square sounds the best, lots of people, lights, taxi's, as long as we hung back from the group we should be able to put an hour or two of distance" Isobel spoke, yawning loudly._

"_Ok, so Gotham Square is scheduled for day two" Katie confirmed, making her own notes…_

Closing her notebook, the PA system crackled to life and instructed those students who were leaving for Gotham City to meet in the front foyer of the school for an assembly line with their bags.

Gathering up her mathematics textbook, Isobel strode to her locker and dumped them in before slamming shut the metal door. Smiling as she walked down the hallway of her high school for the very last time, Isobel Middleton hoisted her backpack and shoulder bag and pushed through the double doors towards the foyer.

"Au Revoir Montreal."

…

Slipping her shoulder bag onto the floor at her feet, Isobel tucked herself in the plush fabric seating of the window seat as Katie Emerson stretched her legs out towards the aisle.

"You know, I kinda hope your Dad is some big Gotham hot shot with the way Paul was talking about him" she whispered as Isobel nodded her head.

"I just want to meet him, talk to him, find out if we have the same color eyes, what he does for a living" Isobel began as Katie cut her off.

"Find out why the hell he hasn't bothered to phone you or send you a birthday card for the past seventeen years."

"The past is the past Katherine Ann Emerson. Today marks the starting of my new life. A new city, a new Isobel Middleton" she pronounced as the first raindrops started to fall and streak along the side of the sides of the window.

…

_6 hours later…_

Despite the fact that she had been up since 4am, there was no way in hell she was going to catch any shut eye on the bumpy roads and highways towards America's most notorious city. She had been waiting many years for her first actual glimpse of the city towers, skyscrapers, and bridges and nothing was going to take that away from her.

Not even the feelings of exhaustion.

The rain in Montreal had tapered off upon reaching the Canadian/American Border. A two hour wait had ensured that every student had their identities checked and heads counted as they finally pulled away towards their destination.

It was nearly 10pm, when the first glow of Gotham City became visible.

Straining her neck, Isobel struggled to see anything between the low windows of the coach driver and the lighted glare that was coming off the roads mixed with the sheen of a not too distant rain.

"I can't see a damn thing" she huffed as Katie snored right beside her.

"It's dark Middleton, no shit you can't see anything" a male voice erupted from behind her seat.

"Shut it Tim, I wasn't talking to you" Isobel growled as a low chuckle sounded just at her elbow.

"You know what would totally blow my mind all over the back of the seat, would be if the Bat Signal was shining in the clouds."

Confused, Isobel sat up in her seat and turned around to face Tim Ford

"The what?"

"The Bat Signal. The fucking big ass light fixture that is on top of some building. It shines out a light in the shape of a bat" Tim spat, spreading his arms out for emphasis.

"I don't get it, why a bat, what's it for?" Isobel questioned, growing irritable that this appeared to be a huge well known occurrence in the city she had been obsessing over since she could remember.

"It summons the City's Special Forces I guess. You know how the Americans are paranoid about their phones being tapped. What better way to get the Special Forces in than with an obscure signal that only few know the meaning of?" Tim continued just as his seat mate joined in.

"You're stupid Ford, it's not for some Special Forces; It's for some guy" Braden Dover spoke up just as Katie was waking up.

"There is a signal that beams into the sky and some "guy" just shows up? I'm missing something" Isobel spat as Katie yawned incoherently.

"Batman"

All three turned their heads to stare at her.

"What did you say?" Braden questioned, leaning close to her.

Pulling back with disgust, Katie spoke the word once more.

"The Batman. The signal in the sky is a bat, and it calls Batman" she spoke as if this was common knowledge.

"That's it" Braden snapped his fingers quickly.

She couldn't believe it.

"You mean to say that someone in a Bat costume shows up at the click of a signal? That's completely fucked up and ridiculous" Isobel spoke as Tim pressed his palm against the cool window.

"No, it's true. My Uncle, he was a Police Officer in Gotham City before he transferred and he use to tell my Dad about how this guy who shows up in a mask and cape would beat the shit out of criminals and break up drug rings" Tim lectured, excitedly.

"Your Uncle is full of shit man, it was a story made up so the city cops could look good" Braden sighed as Katie shook her head.

"Doubt it. I read on some blog that Batman is real, there's probably a picture online somewhere" Katie rushed as she pulled out her phone and searched.

"Huh, that's weird, I'm sure there was a picture before of this Batman. All that's coming up in the search results are crude drawings and cartoons" Katie spoke, her brow furrowing as she tossed her phone back into her purse.

Turning back around in her seat, Isobel looked out her window and saw the glow of soft light which signaled Gotham City in the very far distance. Their hotel was based just on the outskirts of New Jersey, but if the angle was right, they might be afford a glimpse of a towering building or the famous Statute of Justice from their room.

"The guy is probably long dead now anyways. My Uncle said that the Batman hasn't been seen in nearly twenty years. If he is alive, he'd be on crutches with a back brace and a walker instead of a car" Tim added before being punched hard in the arm by Braden.

Settling back in her seat, Isobel pushed in her headphones and at the same time, saw the soft glow of her own phone.

**MUM (MOBILE) 10:46P**

**Just wanted to check in. **

**Take a picture of Parliament Hill for me. Love Mum xx**

Deep down, a part of her felt guilty for lying to her mother.

But only a small part.

**To: MUM (MOBILE)**

**Very tired, long drive. **

**Check in tomorrow. Xo**

Shutting her phone off, Isobel closed her eyes and surrendered to a brief catnap.

…

"Wake up honey bunch, we've arrived at the Bed Bug Inn" a singsong voice broke out in her head.

Slowly opening her eyes, Isobel cursed at the bright light that shown directly in her face courtesy of the bus light fixtures.

"You're drooling" Katie teased as she took out her ponytail and flipped her hair around.

"Shut up" Isobel smiled as she hauled herself up to a seated position. Stretching her arms up over her head, she stood up and with a foot half asleep, spilled out of the charter bus and into the foulest smelling air she had ever breathed.

"Oh my god, what the hell stinks?" she muttered as one of the teachers stood beside her with a clipboard.

"Fresh Gotham air. Courtesy of the breeze that is bringing it across the East River and to this side of Jersey" Mr. Davis lectured as he took in a deep chest full of air.

"It smells like garbage and a rotting corpse" a blond haired teen standing behind Katie breathed out.

"Well, this is Gotham City so maybe" Tim replied as a duffle bag was thrown into his face.

"Alright everyone, same as before, line up and we can get all these bags inside the lobby to claim" another teacher's voice broke out from somewhere near the back.

Taking her place beside Katie, Isobel felt the weight of the bags in her arms as she tossed them aside without a care. All she could do was stare out towards the glow of the millions of city lights that made up Gotham.

"I feel like I am home" she whispered to herself as another bag left her arms.

…

The hot water of the shower felt great against her muscles.

Feeling free of the dirt, tiredness, and heavy from travelling a total of nine hours on a cramped charter bus, Isobel rested her head against the glass of the shower door and let all her saved up tears fall.

"I'm here" she breathed, running her hands through her hair.

"I've made it to Gotham" she finally smiled as she closed her eyes and pushed her face into the falling water.

Hearing a quick knock on the door, Isobel snapped her eyes open just as the shadow of a body entered.

"It's just me, grabbing my toothbrush" Katie's voice rang out as Isobel reached for the complimentary shampoo bottle.

"Try and save some hot water for the rest of us by the way" Katie teased as she tossed face cloth against the glass door.

"Twenty more minutes" she shouted much to her amusement as another loud thump sounded on the closed bathroom door.

Shutting off the water, she draped herself in a white fluffy towel and looked out the window towards the darkness of where Gotham City would stand in mornings light.

"I've waited my whole life for this" she whispered to herself as she toweled off. Tossing the towel aside on the floor, she could hear the strained voices of her best friend and the two other girls who were to share their room for their stay. She barely knew the other girls, but there was no time to make new friends when she was going to heading out on her own in a matter of days.

…

**Enjoy!**


	14. Chapter 14

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 14**

**Song(s): Dreams (Psychemagik Remix) Fleetwood Mac**

_March 8__th_

_Student Itinerary:_

_8:00am – Depart Hotel_

_9:00am – Chinatown and Little Italy_

_11:00am – Lunch and Shopping at Killinger's Department Store _

_1:00pm – Financial District_

_3:00pm – Wayne Enterprises_

_5:00pm – Dinner _

_6:00pm – Return to Hotel_

The morning light that streamed in from the half closed curtains, struck Isobel's eyes with such intensity that she bolted straight up and made a bee line for the window. Tearing open the curtains, she ignored the groans of her fellow roommates and stared straight out towards what must be the East River.

_Gotham's main body of water and the main dumping ground of bodies_ she thought as Katie threw a pillow towards the window catching Isobel's bare leg.

"Coffee…stat" she moaned with a yawn as Lucy and Aria stirred in the next double bed.

She could barely make out the tall dark structure that stood off in the distance due to the incredible black smoke that circled it.

"I'm surprised we weren't charged for gas masks on this trip" Katie spoke as she tossed aside the bed covers and started to gather her bathroom things for a much needed shower.

Hearing the rings of the telephone that rested on the little wooden table near the television, Lucy crawled off the bed and picked it up.

"Yes, we are all up."

"Mrs. Gregory, just making sure we all didn't die in our sleep" Lucy smiled as she poked a finger at the one serving coffee pot that looked like it had seen better days.

"Where are we going first?" Aria spoke up, trying to cover her head with two pillows.

"Well first is breakfast, then to Chinatown and Little Italy. Though how we will cover both areas in two hours before lunch will be a miracle" Lucy offered as Isobel stepped away from the window and pawed through her bag filled with clothing.

"And this afternoon, we are apparently going to Wayne Enterprises. Though whatever for; as I thought this was supposed to be a fun trip" Aria added as Katie excited the bathroom, a curtain of steam following her.

"Hey, I'll take a detour and stop in to see Bruce Wayne anytime. He's gorgeous, stinking rich, and not married" she smiled throwing off her towel and beginning to dress.

"Ew! He's almost fifty! Maybe he'll give us all some money as a souvenir, a one hundred dollar bill with his face on it" Aria winked as Isobel sat on the edge of the unmade bed.

Taking a seat beside her best friend, Katie Emerson patted her knee.

"You alright?" she asked, catching Isobel biting her lower lip.

Suddenly smiling, Isobel looked to her friend and shook her head.

"I'm scared, and nervous and excited all rolled in one" she whispered as Lucy and Aria remained oblivious to their private conversation.

"We don't strike out on our own until tomorrow. Today, we can gather maps, and just figure out some little things like where to start looking. Paul said your Dad was a businessman; you think he's telling the truth?" Katie asked as Isobel shook her head.

"He wouldn't lie to me about that. Hell, he gave me some phone number that would help me out" Isobel replied as she looked to her shoulder bag hanging off the back of the chair.

"One of our stops today is the Financial District. Maybe we'll get lucky and see someone who is the spitting image of you" Katie remarked as she stood and pulled on her grey sweater.

"Should we try calling the number now?"

"No. I want to wait until we leave the group" Isobel confirmed as she rose to her feet and grabbed her shower items.

…

Climbing back onto the charter bus so early in the morning was met by groans, moans, and cries of student abuse.

Taking their seats near the back, Isobel replaced her sunglasses on the bridge of her nose as Katie hunkered down.

"Too early and not enough coffee, let's hope Gotham's Chinatown has a Starbucks" she moaned as Isobel kept a grip on her shoulder bag.

Feeling the bus lurch forward as it drove for nearly forty minutes towards the bridge that would cross the East River and take them into Gotham, Isobel could hear the snaps of cameras and the see the pointing of fingers as the bus honked its horn before being cut off by a black SUV.

"You could swear we were on the Autoroute Felix-Leclerc" Isobel muttered as Katie jabbed her in the ribs.

"Gotham is notorious for its lack of traffic control."

"Gotham City seems to be notorious for nearly everything" Isobel replied as the bus tires gave a squeal with the changing friction of the roadway. Entering onto the Madison Bridge at the peak of morning rush hour traffic, the charter came to a complete standstill as car horns let out with a furry.

"Why have we stopped?" one of the teachers called out as another rose from their seat and slowly walked up the aisle towards the driver.

Craning her neck to try and see out the window at her side, Isobel caught the flashing of blue and red lights just as a uniformed Officer walked in between two idling cars.

"Mmmm, Gotham's Finest" Katie smiled, licking her lips as Isobel laughed.

"Are you serious?!"

Hearing their teacher's surprised words, the chatter of fellow students drowned out the wail of a siren as Mrs. Gregory walked back towards her seat looking incredibly pale.

"A body was found lying in the middle of the bridge" she spoke as the chatter rose to a higher volume.

"This is going to be the coolest trip ever!" Tim Ford cheered as Isobel slumped down in her seat.

"Such a warm welcoming to the city" Katie whispered as Isobel felt a chill in her shoulders.

"Let's just hope it's not a sign of something worse to happen."

…

_Chinatown, Gotham…_

By the time they had parked the charter bus on Doyer's Street, it was nearly ten-thirty. Stepping off the bus, Isobel craned her neck up to take in the enormous Chinese lettering of a restaurant that stood directly in front of her.

Looking up into the sky, her eyes were no longer blinded by the rays of the morning sunlight.

For in Gotham City, no one ever saw the sun; just the shadows changing slightly in their positions.

"God, it stinks here" Katie muttered as she pinched her nose.

"Gotham's Chinatown is one of the most historic districts in all of the United States. It's even older than Manhattan's" Mr. Davis educated as he adjusted the collars of his jacket.

"Chinese food is Chinese food. You can get it anywhere. I wanna find a front for the Mob" Tim shouted as Isobel and her fellow students turned to look at him.

"We are all staying together. No one wanders off. If anyone does, you will be put back on the bus and you will stay there for the remainder of the trip" Mr. Davis threatened as Isobel watched a young Chinese woman cross the street against the red light with her small child.

Hearing the jumble of noises ranging from squealing taxicab brakes, to car horns, to garbage trucks lifting dumpsters, to no crossing beeps wrapped up with the constant chattering of voices in a variety of languages, Isobel felt overwhelmed at the daunting task of finding one man in all of this.

"And I thought I was use to the atmosphere of a large city" she spoke, catching Katie's nod.

"It's the crazy big city of millions" she added as the group of students began walking down Mott Street towards the sidewalk vendors.

Many students turned their nose in disgust as Tim Ford took a grasshopper between his thumb and forefinger and tossed it down his throat.

"Delicious" he pronounced as Isobel ignored the show.

She was more interested in the flow of street traffic and its many citizens.

_What are the odds that my father even knows what I look like? Could my mother have been in contact with him over the years? Would she have given him a school picture?_ She wondered as a fire engine rounded the street corner and threw on its siren.

"A city just like any other" she noted as Katie bumped into her side.

"Lucy and I want to head inside that store there with all the flowers and hand fans, come with?"

Jaywalking across the narrow street with three other students in tow, they were to adhere to the strict rules of only thirty minutes inside before meeting out in front.

She wasn't going to buy anything, as that would mean carting it around with her tomorrow in her already full bags when she and Katie slipped away. Accompanying her friends into the store, they were met by a friendly smile from a young woman who stood at the cash register with a pink flower tucked in her black hair.

"I like this one" Katie spoke as she held up a pink and lavender colored hand fan that looked to fall apart if used.

"It's nice" Isobel smiled as she slowly moved towards the last aisle near the back of the store. Tightening the hold she had on her shoulder bag, she let her eyes wander over the inexpensive and obviously cheaply made merchandise.

Straining her ears, she lost the sounds of her friend's familiar voices and picked up on the unfamiliar accented Mandarin words.

Moving closer towards the door, she could faintly hear the upsetting tone of two female voices followed by the low voice of a male. Touching her fingers against the Chinese screen decorated in a variety of fake colored flowers, Isobel gave a cry as something heavy was thrown against the thin wall.

Spinning on her heel, she quickly found Katie and gave word that she was going to wait for them outside.

"Shit Isobel, are you alright?"

Nodding her head, Isobel tried to smile as she pulled open the green, paint peeling door.

"Yeah, it's just all the scents, giving me a headache" she lied as she bounded down the steps and onto the sidewalk. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deep just as something hard crashed into her.

"Don't stand on the fucking sidewalk chick, you're in the way" a gruff voice spat, as Isobel took a step back and stood on the bottom stair.

"Sorry" she muttered as the apron wearing man swore once more under his breath at her.

"Miss Middleton, where are Lucy, Katie and Aria?" Mrs. Gregory questioned as she appeared with all the other students hot on her heels. Most were clutching some sort of food item; others had small plastic bags hanging off their wrists with cheap trinkets.

"Um, they are just…"

"We're here" Katie chimed in as she tucked away her American change in her pants pocket.

Counting heads, Isobel felt Katie's fingers on her hand.

"What's up?"

"I'm fine" Isobel smiled as she felt her stomach growling.

"We better be having lunch soon, I'm starving."

…

_Killinger's Department Store, West 81__st__ Street…_

"You're being unusually quiet Isobel Middleton. What the hell spooked you in that store?"

Throwing her eyes up, Isobel shrugged her shoulders.

"I was near the back and I think someone was shoved hard into the wall where I was standing. There was an awfully loud crack, maybe someone's head" Isobel trailed off as Katie shook her head.

"Sounds like you found Tim's sought after Mob front. No different than what happens in some areas of Montreal. He's going to be so jealous" Katie spoke as a waitress sat down two Diet Coke's and plastic glasses.

"Don't say anything about it Katie. I'm sure it was one of the women I heard, you know there is a special place in Hell for women who don't help other women" Isobel spat as Katie stared at her in disbelief.

"And what would you have done? Thrown yourself in her place? You would have most defiantly been killed."

"I should have done something, instead of scurrying out of the store like nothing happened" Isobel muttered as she took a long sip of her drink.

"You're not some superhero with a sword and shield for protection. Shit like this happens" Katie finished as another waitress arrived with two orders of veggie wraps and fries.

"This food better be good, because my appetite is back after looking at dead bugs for sale."

Grabbing a fry from her plate, Isobel dipped it in a vinegar packet before taking a small bite.

"So the Stock Market is next?" she asked as Katie nodded her head.

"Though whatever for, just to make us jealous of all the money rich people are making every minute. After that is the Wayne building. I wonder if he'll even be there?" Katie wondered as Isobel concentrated on her lunch.

"Maybe. Maybe he even knows who my father is" Isobel muttered as a free thrown fry landed on their table, courtesy of Tim Ford and gang.

…

_Wayne Enterprises, corner of Finger and Broome Streets…_

"Damn, the sign looks like it's made of gold."

"It _is_ made of gold."

Filing out of the bus, Isobel adjusted her shoulder bag as Katie peered into her compact to make sure there was no lingering spinach in her teeth.

"We've already confirmed that your teeth are in the clear before we entered the Exchange" Isobel chided as Katie snapped the lid shut.

"That was sweaty men in a bull pit. This is mega billionaire who makes more than we would ever in a minute" Katie mocked as Isobel rolled her eyes.

"You're ridiculous" she laughed as another head count went on around them.

…

"Mr. Wayne, Mr. Collins has had to cancel your meeting this afternoon at three-thirty due to his wife going into labor at Gotham General" the young blond spoke as she drew a single pen line through the time slot.

Clearing his throat, the forty-seven year old billionaire rose to his feet and shrugged off his custom made black suit jacket before handed it to the young woman standing in front of his desk.

"Cancel the deal with his company. I don't care what his excuse is, he's pissed me off enough times in two days" Bruce spat as he shoved his hands into his pant pockets and walked to the set of floor to ceiling windows.

Impeccably streaked free of any dirt or dust.

He was bored.

Utterly bored.

Not just with his family's vast empire, but with his own life in general.

In the fourteen years since his decision to cast the only woman he had ever deeply loved out of his life forever, he had put a drastic halt to his nightly escapades of scrambling over rooftops, and balancing his dark knight identity with that of a rich billionaire.

Though he still kept tabs on certain gangs and areas of the city, it had been years since he had donned the Batsuit cape and cowl.

Eleven years to be exact.

Staring down at the flow of traffic at his feet, Bruce ran a hand through his slightly graying hair.

_Genetics be blessed_ he thought as he extended his left arm straight up into the air. Having broken it enough times, he was glad the time away from falling off rooftops and lunging at criminals had healed the worst of his pains and bruises.

All that remained were slightly puckered scars of a past life.

"I don't know if you are aware, his assistant began as Bruce turned his head to look at her, but there is a student tour that is to begin at three of the main areas of Wayne Enterprises."

"When did we start offering tours?" Wayne questioned as he walked back to his desk and took up his coffee.

"About eight months ago? It was an idea that was approved by the Board. They wanted to showcase to young prospective students before they chose their career paths" the woman spoke as Bruce leaned his hand on the edge of the desk.

"And where was I during this" he muttered not expecting a meek response.

"Thailand Sir."

Setting his glaring eyes on her features, the young woman received the message and bowed out the door of his too large office.

Taking a seat, Bruce leaned forward and pressed the call button on the phone.

"Sir?"

"Are these students local?" he asked, preparing to tell her to cancel the tour before it had even begun.

"No Mr. Wayne. They are from Canada. High School students, nineteen of them in total."

"Canada" he repeated as he hung up the line.

Settling back in his expensive chair, Bruce steppled his fingertips together as the silence surrounded him.

Hearing the light knock on his door, he opened his eyes as his assistant stood at the door with her hand on the handle.

"Did you want me to cancel the tour?" she asked as Bruce lowered his hands into his lap.

"No, let it continue" he spoke as he rose to his feet and grabbed his suit jacket.

"I'll call your driver" she affirmed as Bruce moved past her and into his office's reception area.

"No need" he replied exiting the office as his assistant hurried after him.

Following down the hallway in her heels, the young woman nearly collided into the back of Wayne as he stopped to sign a document that was handed to him by the head of his Technical Department.

"May I ask Mr. Wayne, where you are going?"

"Ms. Lauden, I think I will see for myself at just how effective these show all tours are" Bruce spoke as he pushed through a set of double doors, barely holding them open for her to scurry through.

…

Even the front lobby entrance had specks of gold in the trim and polished marble tiled floors.

All eyes were raised to the ceiling as Isobel caught sight of the intricate inscription around a painting of two well dressed people; a dark haired man and a blond haired woman.

_In fondest memories T. and M. Wayne._

"Everyone will need to get in single file to be signed in and handed a visitor's badge" a burly security man spoke as Isobel felt Katie's hand on her arm.

"Can't you just smell the money in the walls?"

Grabbing the black fountain pen from the boy in front of her, Isobel printed her name including initial before signing with a flourish.

Taking her badge, she clipped it to her shirt and wandered back over to the painting.

"The tour will start in a few minutes, please feel free to take your photographs now as there are to be no pictures taken beyond the double doors" a young woman dressed entirely in grey spoke as she gestured for the security officer to radio in.

"Is Mr. Wayne going to make an appearance?" the question was thrown out just as the grey suited woman folded her hands in front of her body.

"No, Mr. Wayne will not be making an appearance this afternoon" she spoke as a few sighs were heard amongst her fellow student.

"Damn it" Katie seethed as Isobel whispered.

"We could always come back tomorrow and hang around out front with signs?"

"Alright everyone, please follow me and we will begin" the woman spoke with a wide smile as the double doors were opened.

Like a herd of cattle, they filed in one by one through the double set doors and down a long expansive hallway. Closed office doors lined both the left and right side of the hall and upon approaching another set of doors; they were met by a guard who asked to see each and every badge.

"Fort Knox" Aria joked.

"Through here, we have the beginning of the Applied Sciences Department located in the Lucius Fox Wing of Wayne Enterprises" the guide spoke gesturing towards a large glass window which allowed for viewing of the scientists at work.

Stepping up to view the worker bees, Isobel caught sight of the back of a well dressed black suited man exiting through a steel door across the way. A young woman in a skirt too tight and heels too high trailed behind with a leather clipboard and an anguished look.

"Hmm."

Joining her fellow students in line, Isobel could hear and sense the boredom as they dragged their feet and wished they could have stayed longer in Chinatown.

Spending nearly forty minutes walking around the various wings of Wayne Enterprises, Isobel tried to figure out if the man she had briefly seen was in fact Bruce Wayne before letting it slip to Katie.

_Probably not. Why would he show up to a school tour of his company?_ She decided, following her classmates out through the doors and into a large reception area room.

"We have Sharon Fox, a member of the Board to speak to you all now on…."

Tuning out from the guide's voice, Isobel took a step back and heard the shutting of a door right behind her. Turning around, she spied the same pencil skirted blond that had been trailing the suited man almost an hour earlier, mouthing what looked like curses a she scribbled on her notepad.

_If she is here, then maybe he isn't far_ behind Isobel thought as she slowly pushed through her classmates towards the front of the pack.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she halted in her steps as Mr. Davis whispered furiously in her ear.

"Stop moving around Isobel!"

Looking up at the navy skirted woman at the front of the room, Isobel struggled to listen to her words as Tim moved up beside her.

"I heard you found a front in Chinatown" he whispered, catching Mr. Davis's pissed off glance.

"It was just a shop Tim" Isobel replied, getting irritated enough to almost throw a fist in his face.

"Yeah well, you should have told me. Gotham City is all about crime, and I wanted to see something" he seethed just as a commotion began in the back of the room.

Watching as everyone in front of her began turning around, Isobel felt a mighty shove against her shoulder as she stumbled towards the expensive tiled floor. Holding out her hands to try and lessen the sure to be epic sprawl at the feet of her teacher or one of the burly security officer's, Isobel suddenly felt a pair of strong hands around her shoulders.

Only her knee and pride would suffer bruising and bleeding as she absentmindedly gripped the perfectly pressed white Tom Ford dress shirt of Bruce Wayne. Sputtering out what she hoped was an apology, Isobel felt herself being hoisted back onto her feet as light fingers brushed the loose strains of dark brown hair out of her eyes.

Raising her eyes, she was taken aback as the black suited man she had seen earlier was now standing directly in front of her.

"I…uh…I'm sorry….Sir" she muttered as she tried to step back without result, due to his firm hold on her upper arm.

"Try not to wrinkle the shirt."

Confused at his words, Isobel realized that her fingers were still gripping the excess fabric of his dress shirt and she pulled her hand back with great speed.

Hearing the gasps and mutters coming from behind her, she knew that her sprawl had not gone unnoticed; nor did it go unnoticed that she had seemingly "fallen" into the arms of America's richest man. Spurts of giggles sounded off, along with a few mutters of "lucky bitch, look at that, he's even touching her, and she probably threw herself into him on purpose" met her ears and no doubt his as Wayne released his hold on her arm.

In a split second, two black suited Ex Navy Seals well over six feet were at Wayne's side, either waiting for instructions or preparing to make an arrest in what looked like a overzealous stalker encounter.

"It's alright" Wayne spoke, not watching as his bodyguards moved off into different directions of the reception room.

Nervously moving her hand to her shoulder, Isobel couldn't feel the strap of her bag as she felt panic and started looking at the floor.

"Quite a heavy bag to be carrying around all day."

Hearing Mr. Wayne's voice once more, Isobel looked to his outstretched hand as he held her shoulder bag out to her as if it were made of something repulsive.

_Jesus Christ, could this be any more awkward?_ She wondered as she tried to give a smile and took her bag from his fingers.

Feeling a firm hand on her shoulder, Isobel was pulled back as Mr. Davis began to offer his sincere apologies on behalf of his misbehaving students.

Listening to the man in front of him, groveling and offering out his hand, Bruce looked past the man's shoulder to Isobel as she leaned over and touched her bloody knee, wincing.

"Mr. Davis is it?" Bruce interrupted as the teacher closed his mouth and straightened his back.

"Ye…yes, Mr. Wayne."

"Your young student here was not being troublesome; in fact she was forcibly pushed and is now bleeding onto my company floor."

Turning around, Mr. Davis took in the sight of Isobel bent over, pressing her bloody fingers against the cut just under her knee.

"I just need a band aid" she muttered, feeling the rush of blood to her face as she stood up.

"Ms. Lauden, please escort this young lady up to my office and have her attended to. A simple band aid is not going to stop that bleeding" Wayne confirmed as his assistant looked appalled.

"I beg your pardon Mr. Way…"

"Really, I'm fine. I'm not going to sue, I just need a washroom" Isobel protested as Wayne looked away from her and nodded his head towards his assistant.

"You can re-join the tour after you get your _band-aid_" Ms. Lauden sneered, clearly annoyed with the tasking at hand.

Not bothering to catch anyone's eye as she followed Wayne's assistant through a private door, Isobel winced as she felt the nails of the woman coming to rest on her wrist.

"You do not dictate to Mr. Wayne _anything_" she hissed, releasing Isobel as she stared at her.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't ask for special treatment. My knee is probably fine if you want to show me the exit door to the sidewalk" Isobel muttered as a security officer radioed in and held open the door.

Stepping into a stainless steel elevator, Isobel felt cold and held on tightly to her shoulder bag.

_God, if I had lost this, I might as well return to Montreal_ she thought, shaking her head at the prospect of coming so close and almost having her plans thrown out the window.

Stepping out of the elevator, Isobel was met by the smell of roses of all fragrances. In front of a large curtain less window, sat a dark wooden desk with a Mac, and more papers and files than any of the boxes her mother would bring home to mark.

"Sit there, and try not to bleed on the carpet, it was just cleaned" the young blond spoke as she reached into a small fridge behind her desk and pulled out a small bottle of San Pellegrino water.

Handing it to Isobel, she had just twisting off the top when the elevator dinged and opened to reveal Bruce Wayne with an irritated look on his face.

"Ms. Lauden, when I said escort her _to _my office, I meant _my_ office, not a wooden chair in the damn hallway." he spat, coming to stand beside Isobel who had replaced the cap lid without having taken a single sip.

"Of course Mr. Wayne, I was just…"

"I don't want to hear it" he spoke, cutting her off as he extended a hand towards his closed office door.

"If you'd care to step inside" he spoke, walking towards the door as Isobel rose to her feet.

"Thanks for your help" she whispered before giving a grin and following Mr. Wayne.

The billionaire's office was defiantly fit for the King of Gotham City.

She didn't know where to look first as the large antique oak desk caught her eye, followed by the expansive view of downtown Gotham City offered by the panoramic windows on all sides.

She figured a footman would appear at any moment.

"You may sit there, Miss?"

She didn't want to give her name. If he filed any papers, or if something was given to the teachers concerning an injury while on a school trip, her mother would find out and likely hunt her down with a parade of police knowing that she was in Gotham and destroying any hope of finding her father until she moved out on her own.

_By then he may have moved away._

"Emerson, Katie Emerson" she offered as Bruce offered his hand for a shake.

"Bruce Wayne" he introduced as Isobel squeezed his hand tightly.

"I…already knew that Sir" she flushed as Bruce released her hand.

"Strong handshake Katherine, very important for a first impression and Mr. Wayne is fine" he offered, just as a knock sounded at his door.

"My mother instilled that in me Mr. Wayne" she responded as he opened a desk drawer.

"Your mother gave you good advice" he finished as an elderly man entered with a first aid bag.

"For once."

Hearing her mutter, Bruce directed the man to Isobel's knee. Sitting back in his leather chair, he watched as the young brown haired girl moved her shoulder bag to the other side of the chair, refusing to release her firm hold on the strap.

"Teenagers hate to admit that their parents may have a little more knowledge of the outside world" Bruce offered as Isobel met his eyes.

_Am I really having such a casual conversation with thee Bruce Wayne?_

"Well, my mother seems to think that…ouch, son of a bitch!" Isobel spat as she winced at the swabbing of rubbing alcohol on her gash. Looking up at Bruce Wayne, she froze.

Suppressing the smile from his lips, Wayne rose to his feet and moved closer to her book bag.

"I'm sorry for uh…swearing. It's a teenage thing" she apologized, making a mental note to not divulge this to Katie.

"I was a teenager once myself" Bruce confirmed as the man at her side secured two large bandages on and below her knee cap.

"Right, Mr. Wayne this young lady is good to go" the doctor pronounced as Bruce shook his hand.

"Thank you."

Finding herself alone once more in his presence, she thought it strange that he was paying this kind of attention to her.

"I should be alright to go back on the tour now" she offered as Wayne held the door open.

"What do you think of the…tour?" he asked as Isobel grabbed her bag.

"Truthfully? It's really boring and quite useless."

She regretted the words as soon as they had left her mouth as Wayne looked taken aback at her boldness.

"More advice from your Mother?" he questioned as Isobel exited his office and pass the reception desk.

"She is the least truthful person I know" she replied as the elevator doors opened. Stepping inside, she wished that there was music instead of the silence that fell around her and the billionaire.

"My advice to you Miss Emerson? Don't be too hard on your mother. One day, she won't be there for you anymore."

Swallowing hard, Isobel avoided his eyes as the elevator doors opened to reveal an empty lobby.

"Miss, your class is in the Antiquities Department, I will escort you" a soft voice broke out from behind her as Bruce remained in the elevator.

"Take care Miss Emerson, and thank you for your honesty" Bruce spoke as the elevator doors closed before she could thank him for the medical attention.

…

Dinner was utterly excruciating.

"You told him your name was Katie Emerson?" her friend squealed in delight as she took a sip of her root beer.

Stirring the white straw in her plastic glass of warm water, Isobel kept her eyes down casted as she knew every single one of her classmates was still curious about her ordeal at the personal hands of Bruce Wayne.

"I did you a favor" Isobel replied as Katie smiled widely.

"Fucking Bruce Wayne has spoken my name" she smiled with glee as Isobel pushed away her bowl of soup.

"I was extremely uncomfortable the whole time. I was in his office, it's bigger than Paul's townhouse, and he had a doctor come from god knows where, probably by jet plane from uptown, just to clean my knee and put on a bandage" Isobel spoke, catching Tim Ford's eye as he shook his head.

"Well I'm glad one of us got to meet him. I could barely see him from the pack of animals that had gathered around you two" Aria chimed in as a beeping sound rose up from Isobel's phone.

"It's mom."

**MUM (MOBILE) 5:47p**

**Haven't heard much from you. Are you having fun?**

**Paul says hello, love mum xo**

"Oh my god, you should tell her you met the Bruce Wayne, she'd know who he is" Lucy piped up as Isobel pressed reply.

"Why would she know she who he is?"

"Duh, every woman, young and old knows who Bruce Wayne Billionaire Playboy is. My Grandmother even loves him."

**To: MUM (MOBILE) 5:49p**

**Busy day, lots of sightseeing.**

**Met the Prime Minister of all people.**

**Will bring home a stuffed polar bear.**

"The Prime Minister?"

Looking up from her phone as she hit sent, Isobel smiled.

"Well like you said; Bruce Wayne is a big shot in the city, equivalent to Ottawa's top man."

…

Hearing the familiar ding of her Blackberry, Rebecca Middleton reached over her plate and smiled at the reply of her daughter.

"Well I'm glad she's having fun" she smiled as Paul sat quietly across from her turning the page of the newspaper.

"She'll be ok" he muttered.

Raising her eyes onto her longtime friend's face, Rebecca chewed silently as she scrolled with a single finger down the copy of the student trip itinerary that Isobel had given her.

"A week though does seem quite long for a trip just out of province" Rebecca remarked as Paul remained silent.

"It'll be good for the both of you. Get out of each other's hair" he finally smiled as Rebecca sat down her fork.

"Very funny."

…

She had to be dreaming.

There was no way this was real.

Hearing the blast of a double barreled shotgun at her right side, the young girl took off running as fast she could with what little light remained in the warehouse.

"**RUN…RUN…AS FAST AS YOU CANNN…"** the cackling masculine voice broke out as she rounded a corner and slammed against a metal grate.

"**LET ME OUT!" **

Her scream pinged off of the steel walls as she reached out and touched the grate in front of her.

Pulling her fingers away, she could feel the slimy substance as she breathed harder.

Quickly holding her breath, her body began to shake as she heard a set of light footsteps coming towards her.

"**GET AWAY FROM ME ASSHOLE! I'LL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT"** she threatened as she felt a pinch against her neck, causing her to fall like dead weight onto the cement floor.

"Have a pleasant slumber little Ms. Gotham City" the voice smiled as a hideous laugh broke out like the scream of a hyena….

"NOOOOOO!"

Sitting straight up, Isobel threw up her hands before rolling over for the lamp on the table. Knocking it over, she scrambled out of the double bed and sat on the floor while trying to screw the bulb back in.

"Damn Isobel, what are you doing?"

Finally managing to switch on the cheap lamp, Isobel looked to her hands and breathed slowly as she found nothing on her fingers. Rubbing them together, she looked up at Katie who had one eye open.

"Just, a nightmare" she whispered, getting to her feet and making for the bathroom.

"What the hell was that all about?" Isobel whispered to herself as she turned on the cold water tap and held both her wrists under.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she breathed in deeply and forced the air out as today singled the day that she and Katie were to embark on their own search for her father.


	15. Chapter 15

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 15**

**Song(s): Under The Earth (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)**

_March 9__th_

_Student Itinerary:_

_8:00am – Depart Hotel_

_9:00am – Robinson Park/Grant Park_

_11:00am – Lunch at the Plaza Hotel_

_1:00pm – Old Gotham and Gotham Police Department Headquarters_

_3:00pm – Gotham Square_

_5:00pm – Dinner _

_7:00pm – Broadway Show on Grand Avenue_

_10:00pm – Return to Hotel_

"Why the hell do they think we want to visit a park? If it was Central Park in New York where there are gypsies and witches maybe, but two parks one after another? We'll be all dirty for our lunch at the Plaza."

"And you know who owns the Plaza don't you? Mr. Bruce Wayne" Lucy smiled as Isobel shook her head.

"Honestly, you all should be ganging up on Tim; he's the one that pushed me into Wayne's path" Isobel spat as she adjusted the straps of her Jansport backpack. This morning before leaving the hotel, she had re-arranged the bag by rolling up what little clothing she had brought into small balls.

Katie had done the same.

_Flashback…_

"_I've tried calling my Aunt here in Gotham and so far no answer, but she works in the city so we may have to walk around a bit before she gets home at I'm thinking five" Katie spoke as she looked about the shared hotel room for anything she might have left._

"_Well, we could always find dinner in a little hole in the wall while we wait. It kind of looks like it might rain today" Isobel replied, pulling back the window curtain before letting it fall…_

"Can we just skip the greenery and head right for the police headquarters?" a voice broke out on the bus as Isobel pushed her ear buds in.

"No, today is the historical aspect of the trip. Two very old respected parks that withstood the building of Gotham's skyline, followed by a tour of Old Gotham City and the Police Department" Mr. Davis announced as he silently counted the heads of all his seated students.

Staring out the window as they cross over the Madison Bridge, Isobel shut her eyes and was about to drift off into sleep when Katie tapped her shoulder.

"What was with you last night?"

Shaking her head, Isobel shut off her ipod.

"My knee started bleeding again."

"Probably because you destroyed the lamp. I threw it out with my other bag by the way. So if they try to charge us, they won't have any proof of it being broken" Katie replied as Isobel continued to stare out the window.

"I had a nightmare last night. It's just nerves is all."

"Were you being chased?"

Nodding her head, Isobel looked directly at her friend.

"Actually yeah. By a…man in a mask. Like something from a circus."

Rubbing her temple, Katie Emerson screwed up her nose.

"Yeah that's messed up Middleton."

…

Their adventures in the parks were cut short due to the downpour of rain.

Sitting on the charter bus for nearly an hour, damp and chilled had brought out some of the worst tempers.

"This trip is bullshit. Didn't the teachers check the weather forecast before we left?"

"No one can control the weather idiot" a response was thrown out as Isobel ran her fingers through her damp hair.

"What time is it?" she asked Katie as she pulled out her phone.

"10:01."

Letting out a sigh, Isobel settled back in her seat and crossed her arms.

"Let's hope it clears up before this afternoon" she muttered as the bus started to move.

"I guess we are on our way for an early lunch" Katie smiled as Isobel watched the slow traffic of taxi cabs, and expensive vehicles right next to the bus. Spying a black Lincoln Navigator two cars ahead in the next lane, she wondered what it would be like to be rich.

_To never hear, it's too expensive, it's not your birthday, we don't have the money would be a blessing_ she thought as the bus came to a lurching halt.

"Does this guy even have his license?" a voice sounded from behind her seat as Isobel caught sight of the Navigator now equal with her window. Gazing at the rolled up windows, the bus finally rounded the corner and made its way to their next scheduled visit.

…

_1:03pm, Gotham City Police Department Headquarters._

Moving past the enclosed glass counter, many eyes were fixed onto the old police relics that had once been state of the art.

"An old pistol and bullets that was used to bring in the henchmen of the 1931 mob running the Old Bowery" a middle aged officer educated as the students took in the sight.

"Is there anything in the museum from the Batman?" Tim shouted as the officer rested his hands on his gun belt.

"There is no such thing as the Batman" he announced as another officer came to stand beside him.

"We will now move into the gun cage, if you could all remain in pairs" the second officer instructed as Isobel looked into the cabinet.

Spying an old Officer's uniform and gun belt from the 1940's, she wondered how anyone would strike out on their own and become their own police force.

_This Batman character, if he ever did exist must have been out of his mind. Who in their right mind would get into costume and parade around a city thinking he can do better than the police?_ Isobel wondered as she moved along to a row of painted portraits.

Looking into the painted eyes of each one, she took in their names and retired dates before arriving at the last portrait.

"Commissioner Gordon, James R. Retired, 2011."

Next to his portrait, rested an empty frame with the name Commissioner Stephens, William Liam. 2011 - .

"Miss, you're going to have to stay with your group please" a female officer spoke at her shoulder as Isobel was brought back to her senses.

"Sorry" she muttered, scurrying to catch up with the group.

"**YOU FUCKING BITCH!"**

Hearing the scream at her side, Isobel felt a tight hand around her arm as a man dressed in tattered dress pants and no shirt, whipped her around by the arm.

All her senses focused into one powerful movement as she pushed herself against the man, and let lose a sickening crack to his shoulder as he screamed in pain. Falling to his feet, the man gripped his shoulder just as the female Officer was still taking in the scene around her.

"Jesus, are you ok?" she rushed, coming to Isobel's side as another Officer slapped a pair of cuffs on the muttering man.

"I'm fine" she replied calmly, as the man was hauled up to his dirty shoed feet and led away.

"Too many mentally ill out on the streets. They find themselves in here and some just lose their shit" the female Officer offered as Isobel looked at her.

"It's a good thing you knew how to protect yourself; not many women do." she added before stepping away and heading down the hallway where the man had been half dragged.

"Thank you Mum" Isobel whispered as she caught sight of Mrs. Gregory who stuck her head out into the hallway and motioned her to come hither with haste.

…

_Gotham Square._

This was it.

This was where she and Katie would break away from their group of unhappy, bitching classmates and teachers and go off on their separate way into the belly of Gotham City.

The rain had tapered off enough just for everyone to climb off of the bus and out onto the crowded sidewalks. Watching as numerous umbrellas of different colors popped up all around, Isobel took Katie's arm and half dragged her before firmly pressing their backs against a red brick wall.

Feeling a rush of both excitement and nerves, Isobel slipped around the wall and into the mouth of the alleyway filled with silver garbage cans.

"Ok. We did it" she finally breathed as she watched the backs of her classmates being slowly swallowed up with the foot traffic of grumbling Gotham citizens.

"Damn, I didn't think it would be this easy to just…melt away" Katie spoke, tightening the straps of her backpack as she took in the numerous garbage cans.

"We need an umbrella first off; I'm not going to risk a cold and illness to slow me down" Isobel spoke as she rounded the corner and began walking down the opposite way of the sidewalk.

Entering the first shop they came to, Isobel tossed down a twenty dollar bill and handed one of the reed umbrellas to her partner.

"Where do we go first?"

"If you've never been to your Aunt's apartment, we should make our way there first. I don't think I want to be walking around Gotham City trying to find an unmarked brick building by the light of no stars" Isobel confirmed as Katie withdrew her cell phone and began scrolling through her list of contacts.

"Karen lives in apt 3b at the corner of East 73rd Street. Wherever the hell that is" she frowned as Isobel threw her eyes up to the street sign above her head that came complete with graffiti print.

"We are on the West side, so if we cross over there we will be facing East. I guess we just follow the numbers till we hit 73" Isobel shrugged as she gripped tightly the handle to her red umbrella.

"Before we start from 3rd, we need to get out of the rain for a bit. I need coffee to warm up" Katie spoke as they began walking down the sidewalk.

…

Thirty minutes of walking, finally found the two young women shrugging off their wet outer garments and folding up their umbrella's in the booth of a warm hole in the wall on 15th.

"I'll have a black coffee" Isobel ordered as she took out her wallet and checked the pocket once more the scribbled phone number Paul had given her.

"Did Paul say if this number would put you directly in touch with…your father?" Katie wondered as more people entered the café to avoid the sudden heavy downpour.

"He said the number would put me in contact with someone who could help."

"So this person then knows, you're going to be calling at some point. They must already know your name" Katie spoke as the hot beverages arrived.

Taking a small sip of the strong coffee, Isobel shrugged her shoulders.

"Paul knows who my Father is. Why it's some big damn secret I don't know. What little my mum has said, she confirmed that he knows I exist. If he was some big drug or arms dealer, I doubt she and Paul would have been forthcoming with any information" she offered, feeling the tips of her cold fingers coming back to life.

"Let's get settled in at my Aunt's, and then call the number he gave you. There's no way we can even get a decent foothold in looking for a man with no name with that phone number. You and I both don't have enough money put together to survive for months in Gotham without certainty."

Of course her friend was right.

"Well, Paul did give me a hand with a little extra money" Isobel smiled as Katie started at her.

"How much of a hand?"

"Ten thousand."

Knocking her mug over and shuffling quickly to avoid contact with the scalding hot liquid, Katie Emerson stared incredibly at the young girl seated opposite.

"Paul gave you ten fucking thousand dollars?"

Nodding her head, Isobel frowned.

"Of course I don't want to have to use any of it. I do plan on getting a job and going to University."

"Well first you have to finish the year and a half of high school that you are will be missing in Montreal."

"It shouldn't be too hard to get registered here. My father is American, so I could apply for citizenship" Isobel spoke as two middle aged men entered the café, soaked to the bone.

Taking a heavy seat behind the two young teenagers, the men shrugged to one another as the older of the pair suddenly drew out a pistol and rose to his feet.

"An old fashion stickup ladies and gents. Don't be heroes and put your purses and wallets up on the pie counter" the man gruffed as his partner slid out of the booth behind Isobel.

_This can't be happening. I attract nothing but crime!_ Isobel noted as she felt her hands shaking not with fear, but with rage.

"Holy fuck, what are we going to do?" Katie cried out as a woman seated at a single table let out a fierce scream.

Watching the woman scrambling through her purse, she pulled out a mobile phone just as the second man holding a plastic bag swung his hand out and knocked her aside.

"**HEY ASSHOLE! JUST TAKE THE SHIT AND LEAVE!"** Isobel shouted as both men turned their eyes on her.

Licking her lips, Isobel felt Katie's hand on her wrist.

"Fuck, don't provoke them!" she hissed as Isobel took a firm stance.

"Just stay behind me"

"Cute little girl, wanna be my henchwoman?" the young man offered as Isobel's eye caught movement from just behind the cashier counter. She could see the waitress that had brought them coffee trying to fumble with a text while opening the cash register with one hand.

"Speed it up!"

Fumbling with her phone, the waitress watched as it fell from her fingers and shattered.

"**BITCH!"** the black haired man yelled as he pulled out his own pistol and aimed it straight at the sobbing woman.

Moving her eyes over to where a young couple was still seated, Isobel watched as the man gave a small nod to his wife before discreetly tucking his phone back up into his sweater sleeve.

_He must have summoned the police_ Isobel thought as a single gunshot rang out inside the tiny café.

A confusion of screams and breaking glass erupted throughout the small area as the cashier crumbled to the ground.

"**VINNY YOU SHIT! GRAB WHAT YOU CAN!"**

Throwing himself out the door of the café, Isobel watched as the younger man roughly grabbed the rest of the lose cash, before stepping over the bleeding waitress. Pushing past a display of cakes, he nearly slipped as they crashed to the floor.

Breathing steady, Isobel ran towards where the woman laid and found herself kneeling in a pool of thick blood.

"Ok, it's ok, I can help you" she soothed with a shaky breath as Katie threw a hand up to her mouth.

"Oh my god!"

"Someone call 91l, she's been shot" Isobel spoke, taking in the name tag of the woman who gave a cry.

"Wendy, you'll be ok. The police are on their way" she soothed as she reached over and grabbed the woman's apron.

_So much blood_

…

"So two men, both with guns, and wearing no masks?"

"Yes, they sat in the booth on front of us." Isobel spoke as she caught sight of Katie nervously moving her hands as she spoke to another Officer.

Taking a step back, Isobel tucked her hands into her jeans pockets before remembering the dried blood.

_Too late now_ she noted as she looked down at her clothing with an uneasy stomach.

Semi dried blood caked both her shirt and pants as the grey haired Officer took in the state of her clothes.

"We are going to have to take your clothes for evidence. I will also need your name, address, phone number, and some piece of identification before we head down to the station" he continued as Isobel stiffened.

"I'm not from around here" she spoke softly as the Officer met her eyes.

"I still need to see your Identification" the officer affirmed as Isobel sat her backpack down on the ground and pulled out her driver's license. Handed it to the Officer, he took down her name, address, city, province, and country.

"Your phone number?"

Giving her cell number, she dared not to give her home phone.

"You're a long way from home Miss Middleton; what are you doing in Gotham City?"

Trying not to stall for a natural answer, Isobel's eyes fell onto the rolling stretcher as two paramedics adjusted safety straps and first aid kits.

"Um, I'm here on a school trip."

"I will have to escort you downtown, I see you have a change of clothing in your bag" Officer Heenes spoke as he signaled to the young blond haired Officer who was finishing up with Katie's statement.

"I can't go downtown, can I not just get changed somewhere here?" Isobel asked, catching the Officer's eye as he frowned.

"No, and are there no teachers with you on your trip?" he asked suspiciously, taking a step closer.

_This is it; he suspects something. Why would two girls be off on their own away from the other students?_

"There are, we will be meeting with them later on. It's free time" Katie's voice interjected as the Officer looked at her.

_I can't go to the police station. It will fuck everything up. Chances are Katie and I have been reported missing by that rat bastard Ford._

Securely fastening the straps of her backpack against her shoulders, Isobel took a small step backwards as Officer Heenes turned away and motioned for the other Officer.

Taking off at a sprinting pace in the opposite direction, she heard Katie cry out her name as the Officer shouted…

"**GORDON!"**

Running as fast as her legs could carry her, but slowed greatly by the unequal weight of her backpack, Isobel clumsily turned around and spied the young uniformed Officer who had been taking down Katie's statement gaining on her.

"Shit" she breathed hard as she turned down the next alleyway and pushed past two garbage cans.

"Dumb bitch! That's my garbage!" a man dressed entirely in black screamed as Isobel ran past him followed seconds later by the blond haired cop.

"**GET HER COP!" **

Hearing the man's cheer as she rounded the corner, Isobel felt like throwing up but knew she couldn't stop. Looking behind her, she didn't see the Officer just as a heavy door was kicked open meters in front of her.

"Shit!"

Yelling out, she had just managed to duck around it when a strong hand roughly gripped her wrist and violently spun her around before pushing her up against the brick wall of the alley.

"**LET ME GO!"** she screamed, trying to rip her arm lose for a good shot to the man's uniformed chest as he threw the weight of his shoulder into her chest.

"**STOP MOVING AROUND GOD DAMN IT!"**

Opening her eyes, she caught sight of the Officer's name tag as _Gordon _and as she threw her eyes up onto his face she struggled in his grip.

The Officer was boyish in appearance. Sandy blond colored hair with blue eyes, his features were not the typically hard ones one might find on a Gotham City Police Officer.

""Knock it off!" he hissed as he held Isobel tightly.

"Ok….ok…" she breathed as she felt his hold lessening slightly.

"If you take a swing at me, I will taser you. Understand?" Gordon breathed as Isobel sucked in a deep breath before nodding and twisting in his arms.

Breaking his hold on her, James Gordon Jr took a step back and looked down into the face of the young girl in front of him.

She was young, and looked to be in need of a good hot meal.

"What is your name?"

"Isobel Middleton"

"Well Isobel, you really have no choice but to come downtown with me. You were at the scene of a crime, you could really help us out by sitting down and giving as much information as possible even though you are scared" Gordon spoke, keeping contact with Isobel's eyes.

His eyes were warm and as he reached out for her arm, she felt no desire to pull away from him.

"I'll do what I can to help out that woman, but I am not scared" Isobel spoke firmly as Gordon took her arm and began walking her towards the mouth of the alley.

Nodding his head, the twenty three year old Officer, son of the now retired Commissioner Jim Gordon, squeezed her arm gently as they meandered around the garbage cans she had pushed over.


	16. Chapter 16

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 16**

**Song(s): Cool Kids (Echosmith), Habits (Tove Lo)**

_Gotham City Police Department Headquarters_

"Just sit there and don't move"

Sitting down heavily on the well worn seat of a grey, gritty looking chair, Isobel took in the chaos going on around her.

In front of her sat rows of occupied chairs with both men and women.

To her right, was a glass enclosure which sat a harried looking Officer with a line up eight bodies deep.

Isobel watched as the Officer threw up his hands and shouted something incoherent to the man standing in front of the glass window.

"Bullshit" the man breathed as he passed Isobel and headed into yet another line on the opposite side of the room.

All around, the constant noise of threats, clanging metal, and shouts of "brutality" met her ears as she threw her hands up against her temples.

"It'll only get worse as it gets closer to the evening hours."

Hearing Officer Gordon's voice at her side, Isobel looked up and sat back against the chair.

"Can I have a glass of water?" she asked as Gordon moved his hands up to his belt before taking out a pair of handcuffs.

"All the interview rooms are full right now. You'll have to wait here, and since I can't have you running off again to break a marathon record, Gordon spoke as he snapped the cuff around Isobel's wrist and to the arm of the chair before she could even register what he had done, you're doing to stay here and wait for me."

Wrenching her arm uselessly against the cuff, she stared at him in disbelief as he gave her a smile.

"I'm not a criminal!" she breathed as Gordon walked away from her, grabbing a stack of manila file folders that were handed to him by another uniformed Officer.

Twisting her cuffed hand in anger, she wondered if drawing blood would get attention and out of the main hub of activity in the station.

"You can have a seat with your friend."

Feeling a body seated next to hers, Isobel took in Katie's exhausted appearance and tried to move her hand to wave her fingers.

"Jesus, Isobel, why did you run from that cop?" Katie moaned as her best friend huffed in frustration.

"I panicked. He was asking me things, and he said I had to go down to the station, I mean, Jesus Katie, they haven't let me change" Isobel moaned as she looked down at the stained knees of her jeans.

"Well, I don't think you are the dirtiest one in this place, so no one is looking at you" Katie sighed as she crossed her arms and leaned back.

"Why didn't they handcuff you?" Isobel questioned as her friend opened a single eye.

"I'm not a flight risk."

_Perhaps I'm just not meant to find my father _Isobel noted as she felt Katie digging around in the pocket of her sweater.

"I may not have been able to open your mother's safe, but I think this might work" she whispered as she leaned over and plunged her bobby pin into the keyhole of the cuff.

"Jesus, who are you?" Isobel gaped as the cuff snapped open, still attached to the arm of the chair.

"Do you still have your bag or did they take it?"

"It's here," Isobel spoke as she reached beneath her seat and slid it up to rest between her feet.

"When you leave, I will text you Karen's address. Hopefully, that blond cop won't be back here until the other cop lets me go" she hoped as Isobel sat up and slowly moved her eyes over the room and occupied chairs.

"It'll look good on him to be outsmarted by a meager teenager" Isobel sneered as Katie touched her hand.

"Be smart, don't be out after dark. If Karen isn't there, just stay at her building and I will take a taxi."

_I'll be off on my own._

"Ok."

It was all she could say to her best friend as Isobel gave her a quick hug before grabbing her bag and slowly standing to her feet. Keeping the bag at the level of her knees, she ruffled up her bangs and slowly made for the front door that never seemed to have time to properly close shut.

Standing out on the sidewalk, Isobel slipped her backpack onto her shoulders and immediately went right as she spied a coffee shop. Slipping inside, she found the washrooms and tossed her bag into the first stall that was empty before slamming shut the door and peeling off her clothes.

Standing nearly naked in the stall, she wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a comfortable bed.

_These will have to be thrown out_ she decided, rolling the blood smeared clothes into a tight ball before digging around in her backpack for fresh items. Folded black skinny jeans, a white v neck t-shirt and a black sweater felt like salvation against her skin as she pulled her dark brown hair into a ponytail.

Slipping the straps of her bag back on, Isobel exited the stall and pushed her rolled up clothes into the trash bin. Approaching the sink, she gasped as her pale features stared back at her from the mirror. The stress of her unbelievable day had put bags under her eyes and taken away any color in her cheeks as she turned on the sink faucets and scrubbed at her nails.

Hearing the familiar ping of her phone, Isobel ripped it from her pocket and breathed a sigh of relief as it flashed.

**KATIE (MOBILE) 5:21p**

**3b at the corner of East 73****rd**** Street.**

"Karen's address" Isobel muttered as she took one last look in the mirror before exiting the bathroom.

Making her way up to the counter of the store, Isobel tried her best to smile as she ordered a blueberry muffin and a black coffee.

Taking a seat away from the window, she wanted nothing more than to lay her head down and catch a nap, but that would prove to be impossible as it was most likely discovered that she had managed to pick her handcuffs and break free of the Gotham Police.

"Now, I am a criminal" she muttered as she took a large sip of the scalding hot liquid.

Reaching into her wallet, she pulled out the digits to the telephone number and smoothed out the rough edges.

_Tonight, I'll meet up with Katie at her Aunt's and tomorrow, I will call and see where this takes me._

Tucking the paper back safely into her wallet, Isobel finished her muffin in a record three bites before downing the last of her coffee.

Having no desire to walk among Gotham's citizen's where she might be picked up by the police, Isobel asked the middle aged cashier if it would be possible to have a taxi called and was met by a puzzle stare.

"Call?, You don't _call_; You must not be from around her. Just go outside and throw your arm out" she educated, pouring coffee in a chipped white mug.

_Everyone is just so fucking friendly in these parts_ Isobel thought as she pushed open the door and spilled out onto the sidewalk.

Her eyes fell upon many yellow Gotham & Co, cabs as they whizzed by at high speeds with horns blaring.

Moving closer to the curb, she felt ridiculous as she threw out her arm.

Not one even slowed down to consider her a desirable fare.

"Damn it" she swore as she pulled out her wallet and pulled out an American fifty.

Throwing her arm out with the folded bill between her fingers, she took a huge step back onto the side as not one but two cabs roughly pulled over to the sidewalk, causing a cyclist to pound his gloved fist against the back window of the second cab.

"Money gets you anywhere" she grinned as she opened the back door to the first cab and gave Karen's address.

…

_Gotham City Police Department Headquarters_

"Jimmy, Interview room 4 is free for your teenager."

Closing the file and pushing it away from his much abused eyes, the young Officer rose to his feet as he glared at his fellow co-worker.

"It's James; and have Glennerton uncuff my runner from the front lobby and escorted into the room" he finished, scratching the inside of his wrist.

Ten minutes later and walking out into the bustling hallway, Gordon Jr, strode past the portraits of previous Commissioners and without giving his Father's eyes a single glance, he rounded the corner and entered the interview room stopping short.

"Where is she?" he wondered out loud as he took a step back into the hallway and caught sight of Glennerton.

"Adam, where is my runner?"

Shrugging his shoulders, the black haired Officer looked aside as Gordon now stood less than a foot away from him.

"There was no girl cuffed to any chair out in the lobby" he breathed as Gordon felt the blood rising to his cheeks.

Striding quickly down the hallway, he pushed open the heavy doors and rounded two rows of grey chairs before his eyes fell on the empty seat and dangling silver cuff.

Bewildered by the sight in front of him, he pulled out the tiny key that was kept in his belt and as he unlocked the cuff and bunched it up into his palm, his eyes fellow on Katie's face as she tried to appeared plain.

"Get on your feet, right now!" he growled as he grabbed her arm and hauled her up.

…

Pushing the Ulysses S. Grant American bill into the cabbie's palm, she requested no change and wished the man a goodnight as he grumbled something incoherent.

Stepping out into the rapidly cooling evening air, Isobel looked around and had just managed to catch sight of a police cruiser turning around the corner.

Sideling up to the red brick building, Isobel looked to the cabbie as he shook his head at her before throwing the car into gear and rejoining the heavy traffic.

Keeping her eyes on the cruiser, she watched as the vehicle showed no signs of slowing down as if on a search.

Pressing her back firmly against the wall, she felt her knees beginning to buckle.

"The police will no doubt be looking for me, the school will be looking for me, Christ, and my mother probably knows that I am missing too. What a fucking disaster!" she spat as the cruiser drove past her and through the obviously red set of lights at the end of the street.

Moving back onto the sidewalk, Isobel looked up at the red brick building and tried in vain to identify any legible markings on the various mailboxes.

"There's no 3b" she whispered, feeling cold as she climbed the stairs and pulled on the door's aging handle.

It wouldn't budge.

"Just fucking perfect" she swore under her breath just as a ping sounded on her phone.

Scrambling to pull it out of her pocket, she felt great relief that it was not her mother, but Katie.

**KATIE (MOBILE) 6:18p**

**I've been let out. **

**Lost my wallet, meet me at Finnigan's on 71****st**

**Battery is low**

Feeling the smile spreading across her face, Isobel looked up into the cloudy sky and mouthed a silent thank you.

…

_71__st__ street _

Feeling the light drops of rain as she looked up to the business names on the right hand of the street, she winced as her tired feet begged for a rest.

Finnigan's it appeared looked to be a bar rather than an eatery and as she neared, her ears caught the musical notes of what could only be something traditional Irish.

Stopping in front of the business, she moved aside as an elderly man pushed through the doors.

The strong smell of cigarettes met her nose as she followed his steps and once inside the darkened bar, she took in the sight of beer glasses, shot glasses, and a large television broadcasting a hockey game featuring the hometown team.

Moving over to the side to escape the worse of the direct smoke, she froze as her eyes caught sight of an official crest.

**GCPD**

"Shit" she breathed as two uniformed Officers shuffled around her amid the encouraging shouts to have another for the long night ahead.

Katie was not here.

This she was sure of, as she kept her eyes downcast on the floor.

Slowly turning around, she had nearly reached the door before a strong hand grabbed her wrist.

Feeling herself being dragged down the crowded makeshift aisle way of the bar, she felt the strap of her backpack give way before it crashed to the floor behind her.

"**WAIT! MY BAG"** she cried out as Gordon Jr roughly pushed through the washrooms and into the labeled woman's area. Here they would not be disturbed.

Flinging the young girl into the bathroom, he didn't watch as she lost her footing and tumbled onto the floor before he spun around and wedged the garbage can up against the door.

"You have pushed way passed my level of any compassion kid" he spat as he strode towards her and grabbed the front of her sweater. Pushing her back against the sink, he was unprepared for her hand strike as Isobel threw the boney part of her palm straight out against his mouth.

Feeling the blow to his face, it only angered him more as he kicked her feet out from under her.

"**YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"** she managed to breathe as Gordon roughly pulled her up onto unsteady feet.

"I can't have you running away from me again. Make a move and I'll break your arm."

She knew his threat was real as she slid back down onto the floor with a heaving chest.

The bathroom fell silent as Gordon inspected his jaw in the mirror, looking down at Isobel.

"Move against the wall, press your back into it to open your lungs" he breathed as he tasted the light staleness of blood from his inner cheek.

"Good hit" he muttered as he turned and threw his hands up onto his police belt.

"Looks like we'll be having our delayed interview in here" he spoke as the garbage can shook under the pressure of someone trying to open the door.

"**OCCUPIED!" **he shouted as the noise died.

"Where is Katie?"

Hearing the young girl's voice becoming steadier, James focused his eyes on her face as he grabbed the roll of paper towel and tore off two sheets. Running them under the water of the faucet, he held them outstretched to Isobel who ignored his gesture.

Using them on his own hands, he tossed them into the trash bin before pulling out Katie's cell phone from his uniform pants pocket.

"Your little friend is locked in my Interview room as her parents are being called" Gordon spoke, watching as Isobel's chest began to rise and fall with more movement.

"She agreed to text you in exchange for me not laying charges on her assisting in your cuff break" he added as he pocketed her phone once more.

Rising to her shaky feet, Isobel inched closer to Gordon as he eyed her with suspicion.

"I need the sink" she managed to say just as she threw up into the basin.

Letting out a sigh, Gordon gathered up her hair awkwardly with one hand as she tried to shovel handfuls of water into her mouth.

"When was the last time you ate?"

Hearing his words, Isobel stood straight as he dropped his hold on her hair.

"You think I can eat after you drove your knee into me?" she breathed as she ran her fingers through her ruffed up hair.

"I think that I could eat, and you can talk before we head back to the station" he replied moving towards the door and shoving aside the garbage can.

"I can't leave Gotham City" Isobel firmed as he turned and took in her balled up fists.

"Your driver's license has you at seventeen years old. A minor, alone, in a foreign country of which you have no business of being in after tomorrow" Gordon spoke as Isobel met his eye.

_He must have spoken to Katie about the school trip._

"I'm not here to sightsee Officer" she spoke as she cautiously made her way towards the bathroom door.

Pulling open the door and allowing her to exit, Gordon placed a firm hand on her shoulder as they began to walk ignoring the non discreet thumbs up from another Officer who winked at the pair.

…

_Miliken's Pub_

Sliding off his issued jacket, James Gordon Jr tossed it onto the seat of the booth as he motioned for Isobel to climb in on his side.

Sliding over the leather seat, she placed her hands in her lap as Gordon settled in beside her with his hands on the table top.

_There's no way you can overtake him when he has you trapped inside the booth_ her voice broke out in her head as Isobel slowly placed her fingers against the edge of the wooden table.

"Menus" he muttered as he pushed one against her fingers.

"I said I'm not hungry."

"You'll change your mind once my steak arrives" Gordon spoke as the waitress arrived.

Placing his order, he took Isobel's menu away before asking for two of his order.

Alone, side by side in the comfortable booth, Isobel refused to say a word as Gordon half turned towards.

"Start talking; why did you run from me today? Albeit twice" he questioned pushing Isobel's glass of water closer to her fingers.

Not saying a word, Gordon stared at her before he turned back around and drummed his fingers on the table.

"I'm sorry."

Perking her ears up, Isobel stared at the young man's profile.

"Those words don't come easy to you, do they?" she noted as Gordon turned and looked at her with a firm stare.

"Watch your mouth Miss Middleton."

Lapsing into silence once more, Isobel shook her head.

"Is Katie alright?"

"You think I beat her into taking her cell phone?" Gordon asked, slightly taken aback as Isobel look at him.

"Police have a difficult job, but I can see you get rough" she noted as Gordon took a sip of his water.

"It comes with the job" he muttered as Isobel opened her mouth to speak.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty three."

"Are you related to the retired Commissioner Gordon?"

She could see that he was uncomfortable with the personal question.

"He's my father."

"It must be nice to know your father" Isobel blurted out just as the waitress returned with two plates of medium rare steak, baked potatoes and green beans.

Placing one plate in front of Gordon, she attempted to push the second plate towards Isobel when Gordon caught the plate.

"Thanks" he spoke as the confused waitress left the table.

"You said you weren't hungry" he sneered as he moved her plate in front of his.

Sitting quietly, she could feel the hungry pains in her stomach as her glands craved the delicious looking food.

Hearing her stomach growl, Gordon tapped his finger against the plate.

"You answer my questions, and I'll give you a paid for dinner" he spoke, taking a bit of potato.

…

"So, you broke off from your school group to find your Father. A man of whom you don't have a name, address, or place of business for" Gordon confirmed as Isobel pushed the last green bean off her plate and into her mouth.

_Fuck that was delicious._

"Yes."

"A wild goose chase in Gotham City for a girl" he shook his head as the plates were cleared.

"Will there be anything else?"

"I'll have a piece of chocolate cake" Isobel announced as Gordon fixed a curious eye on her.

"I do know how to share if you want some" she sneered as he blinked.

"Make it two pieces please."

"Answer me this Miss Middleton, how exactly were you planning to track down your father?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she really had no answer for him.

"I don't plan on returning home, and I had confirmation from family that he is still in Gotham City. Apparently he's a businessman."

"Well, that leaves only roughly thousands of men as a possibility" Gordon muttered as Isobel nodded to her book bag that sat across from her beside his GCPD coat.

"In my wallet, I have a phone number that is supposed to help in my search."

"It sounds like to me, that your family is being very coy about your Father's identity. Maybe they don't want you to find him for a specific reason."

Shaking her head, Isobel picked up her fork as the chocolate cake was slid in front of her.

"My Uncle would never have put me in any danger."

"You're sure about that?"

Looking into Gordon's eyes, she felt a flutter in her stomach as the cake hit home.

"I am."

Finishing their pieces of cake, Gordon threw down three twenty dollar bills onto the table and reached over for his coat just as his cell phone rang.

"Gordon?"

"Yes Barbara I didn't forget. I know its tomorrow and I will be there much against protest" James breathed as he said goodbye and ended the call.

"Wife?" Isobel questioned as she took up her book bag.

"Older sister" he muttered as he put on his coat and escorted her out of the pub and into the late night cool air.

"Officer Gordon, I can't leave Gotham City. Finding my father has been my plan ever since I can remember. I'm not a criminal, and I don't cause trouble. I can't ask for anything more but to ask that you please don't send me back on a one way flight to Montreal."

Breathing out into the cool air, Gordon looked down into the face of the young girl who tried to plead her case.

Truth be told, he felt rather sorry for her though without a real reason as to why.

_Father's aren't all there're cracked up to be_ he thought as Isobel pushed her hands into her jean pockets.

"I'll make you a deal Miss Middleton. You sit quietly in my office for the rest of my shift and starting tomorrow on my precious day off, I will help you with your phone number as much as I can."

She couldn't believe that he was being this nice to her after their earlier meetings. But what else was she to do? Try to make another running escape and sleep in a cardboard box with no doubt every officer after her trail at his request? He'd probably throttle her the next time his hands touched her.

_He's offering to help you Isobel_

Holding out her hand, she fixed her eyes firmly on his as he reached out and grasped her hand in a firm shake.

"It's a deal James" she breathed as he squinted his eyes at her.

"Isobel."

…

Applying the last of her white face paint, the bubbly blond screwed her eyes shut as the compact disc that was playing in the pink boom box began skipping.

Turning around, she whipped her hair brush straight at it as it fell onto the concrete floor, disc flying out and lid cracking.

"Piece of shit."

Returning to the reflection in the vanity mirror, the pale face became even paler as the woman's blue eyes were covered with the checkered black and red mask.

Hearing knuckles against her door, she didn't offer a reply as the door opened slightly.

"He's still sleeping" she answered, knowing her boss would be out cold for a least another hour after the exhaustive marathon of bed activities that threatened to still make her knees weak as they played out in her head.

"Understood" the man growled as he closed the door tightly.

She had never been to Gotham City before, but Mr. J had made it sound like heaven on Earth; everything they could possibly wish for would be at their fingertips with only the petty police to deal with.

_Flashback…_

"_Gotham Police are fucking useless" the man had spat as his female companion pressed her fingertips against the car window._

"_So if the city is a Mecca, why haven't others like us…I mean, like you moved in for the taking?" she wondered flipping her blond hair over her shoulder; knowing that he liked it when she did that._

"_Darling, there was only one thing standing in my way when I was a young cad amongst the Gotham streets, and he is no longer in business" the man smiled widely as his grin spread from ear to ear._

"_A crime lord?"_

_Watching his wide smile slowly deflating, Harleen Frances Quinzel moved closer against the window as a hand shot out and roughly grabbed her chin._

_Steadying the black Mercedes Benz he was operating, the dark haired man squeezed her jaw tightly as she let out a whimper._

"_A vigilante asshole..."_

Straightening the sleeves to her red sweater, Harley looked back at her reflection as she blew it a single kiss.

"Let the fun times roll" she smiled, leaving her private bedroom and making for the stairs.

…

Hoisting her shoed feet up on the wooden desk covered with files, Isobel yawned as she tried to adjust the chair.

She would have settled for the floor to sleep on, if James Gordon hadn't cuffed her once more to the iron railing of the heater.

Accepting the fact that he still didn't trust her enough to not run, she felt it deep down that he was not about to keep her chained up and go back on his word. If a Gotham City Police Officer couldn't help track down the identity of her father, then she would have to figure out something else.

He had refused to let her see Katie before hindering her space. But he had agreed to return her phone. Her own phone, unfortunately, had been tucked away in her backpack that now rested on a chair ten feet away on the other side of the room.

Breathing out, Isobel looked at the wall clock and cursed that it was only two in the morning.

"Four hours left, oh my god" she yawned as the closed door suddenly opened.

"Get your feet off my desk" came Gordon's voice as Isobel tried to straighten up in his office chair.

'It would be easier to sleep if I was lying down" she spoke, catching his eye as he handed her a bottle of water.

"Hmm."

Taking a long sip, Isobel looked around his office.

"No pictures of any sort" she remarked as James took a seat on the edge of his desk.

"My sister hates having her picture taken, my mother is dead, and my father has his picture hanging in the hallway."

At this sudden burst of information, Isobel grew even more curious about his aloofness to his own father.

"You don't get along with your father?"

"When one has such high expectations, there would be friction" he offered as Isobel shook her head.

"There's something else."

Fixing a curious eye on his "guest", Gordon downed the last of his water before rising to his booted feet.

"And you think I'll just start spilling my guts to you? Seventeen and absolutely clueless as to suddenly leave her home and travel all the way to a strange and dangerous city to find a man amongst millions?" he questioned as Isobel roughly pulled her arm, allowing the chain of the handcuffs to rattle against the iron rail.

"I'll be eighteen in less than two months" she spat as Gordon shook his head.

"Lucky me" he muttered. "You'll be back in town under your own steam probably still trying to find a needle in a haystack."

"You can leave now to let me sleep" Isobel spat as Gordon stared at her, her eyes closed.

"I admire your determination to try and find your father, but I know you're going to fail."

His words hit her hard as she breathed deeply. Hearing his boots across the floor and the sound of the office door closing tightly, Isobel brought her hand across the table and knocked over the mug that had been sitting near the keyboard.

"What an asshole" she muttered as she closed her eyes and tried to nap.

…

Many a night he had stood in front of the floor to ceiling windows of his penthouse with thought to the Batman.

Eleven years had passed since he had last donned the familiar cape and cowl. A cape and cowl which had cost him respect, skin, a kidney, friends, and even family.

A beautiful wife and a little girl.

After putting to rest his armor, not a day went by that he didn't think to enter Canada and bring back his family. Would Rebecca have come willingly? Would she have believed that he was truthful to her? Would their daughter welcome him back with such loving arms?

The first time he had given thought to the idea of re-uniting his family, he calculated that Isobel would have been six years of age. An age where so many of her memories would already fail to include him.

Her first steps, birthday parties, school pictures, shared ice creams.

Stepping into the stainless steel kitchen, Bruce took up his glass of white wine and downed a long sip.

Alone in the huge penthouse, he had thought of selling as it remained a painful memory of his last interaction with his ex-wife.

Their fights, their make ups, the sex.

Donning his glass entirely, Bruce pushed it aside as he removed his suit jacket and laid it on one of the stools.

Moving back to the windows, Bruce looked up into the clear night and felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

Not long after he had put a stop to the Batman's nightly outings, it was reported in the Gotham Times that the great steel Bat Signal that rested a top of the Old Gotham Police Headquarters had been destroyed.

Over the years it had never once been repaired.

Making his way towards the bedroom, Bruce took out his keys and Blackberry and laid them on the bedside table as he stripped out of his clothing.

Resting his head on the pillow, he felt exhausted both emotionally and physically as he drifted off to sleep, alone.

…

She had forgotten her mobile on the dining room table, and upon the feeling of relief at the sight of it, she frowned as it lit up five missed calls from an unknown number with a local area code.

The townhouse was completely silent as she kicked off her black heels and made for the kitchen for a glass of white wine.

Giving three lectures today at the University, she wanted to forget the bored and uninterested looks on her student's faces as they tried to discreetly text on their phones thinking she couldn't see their thumbs going a mile a minute.

Taking a long sip of the crisp liquid, Rebecca Middleton put her phone on speaker and hit play for her messages as she dug through the lower cupboard for a pot and lid.

"This message is for Ms. Rebecca Middleton, this is Mr. Felix Adlerson, Principal of St. George's School requesting your immediate attention. Please call back at my personal number. This is an urgent message."

Shutting the cupboard door, Rebecca scooped up her Blackberry and stared down at it with puzzle eyes.

"Isobel's school" she muttered as she replayed the message and took down the phone number.

Ignoring the other missed calls, Rebecca dialed the number with shaky fingers as she tried not to think of a probable worst case scenario.

_Isobel is just fine._

"Hello" a tired voice answered as Rebecca straightened her back.

"Mr. Alderson please and thank you."

"Speaking."

"This is Rebecca Middleton, Isobel Middleton's mother" she spoke hearing a sharp intake of air on the other end of the line.

"Ms. Middleton, as you were aware, the school organized a school trip, and I regret to inform you that…your daughter received a non serious injury to her knee while visiting one of the schedule sites. Even though it only required bandages, I do have to inform you of the incident as it is a school trip. This was reported by Mr. Doug Davis."

Feeling her shoulders relaxed, Rebecca breathed deeply as she pictured her daughter at age four with a broken arm.

A skinned knee was nothing.

"Mr. Alderson, I appreciate your phone call" Rebecca smiled into the phone as she sat it down on the table.

"Other messages can wait until the morning" she announced to no one but the kitchen walls as she took her wine glass and flicked the switch, bathing the kitchen in darkness.

**ENJOY!**

**For the character of James Gordon Jr, I envision actor Ben McKenzie from Southland and now Gotham.**


	17. Chapter 17

I do not own any of the original DC Comic characters. I do own all the created characters.

**Chapter 17**

**Song(s): Trying To Be Cool (Phoenix), Secrets (Mary Lambert)**

The early morning light dribbled in from the partially shut blinds of the window behind her.

Hearing a throat cleared, Isobel felt light fingers against her cuffed wrist as they gently rubbed against the irritated skin.

"Wake up Isobel, shifts over."

Hearing the unfamiliar voice near her ear, Isobel opened her eyes in time to see James Gordon stuffing a few files into his blue backpack.

Confused as to where she was, she winced as the kink in her next made her want to scream.

"God, my neck."

"I'm not going to give you a massage if you're thinking of asking" Gordon's voice broke out as he took up Isobel's bag.

Slowly rising to her feet, she glanced at the wall clock before looking to the uniformed Officer who stood on tired feet.

"Where are we going?" Isobel asked, as he handed over her backpack with only one working strap.

"To my apartment."

Following him out of his office, Isobel nearly crashed into a water fountain as she shook her head.

"Is that legal?"

Fixing a curious eye on her, Gordon threw his hands up onto his belt.

"I can blindfold you if you like?" he replied, as Isobel shook her head.

"Then let's go."

Exciting out of the Police Headquarters, Isobel followed him around the back parking lot and towards a silver Honda Civic. Tossing his items in the trunk, he held out a hand for her bag which she refused to part with.

"Suit yourself" he shrugged as he slammed the trunk closed and rounded the driver's side door.

Climbing into the familiar make and model, Isobel hugged her backpack as he threw the car into gear and shifted out of the parking lot and into traffic.

Twenty minutes later found the car engine shutting off as the pair made their way towards a red brick building of six floors in height across the road.

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, Isobel breathed deeply as she sensed a change in the air quality.

"The smell of the Ace Chemical plant seems to bypass this area entirely. Must be why my rent is so high" Gordon offered as Isobel followed him up the stairs and into the lobby.

Stacks of old newspapers littered the floor as if set for animal training. In the right hand corner nowhere near the light of the window, sat a dead plant on a wooden stool.

Checking the floor around her for hidden holes that would send her into the pit of the basement, Gordon checked his mailbox and pulled out a wad of envelopes. Roughly checking through, he tossed most of them into the overflowing waste bin before making for the non carpeted stairs.

"What floor are you on?" Isobel asked as the sounds of Gordon's heavy black Original Swat boots marched up the stairs.

"Six."

…

Stepping into the Officer's one bedroom apartment, Isobel was thankful that he had some sense to not have pizza boxes and empty beer bottles littering the floor.

Dropping his bag and mail onto a wooden table by the door, he looked her once over before taking off his gun belt.

"Do I have to remove the bullets?"

"I don't even know how to use a gun" Isobel muttered as Gordon hung the belt up.

Stepping into the small two windowed living room, she found it oddly comfortable with a dark brown leather couch, coffee table, plants, throw rug, and a widescreen plasma television.

Simple.

"Do you have to share a bathroom or shower?" Isobel asked, wondering if that was indeed the case as the only possible room left would have been a very small bedroom.

"No I don't share bathroom facilities. The washroom is off the bedroom, and the shower is in the kitchen."

"The kitchen?" she breathed, stepping back into the tiny kitchen and spying a clear shower curtain.

"Gotham architecture" she breathed just as Gordon moved past her.

Holding her breath, she watched as he freed himself of his coat and hung it up in a closet that had missed her eyes entirely.

"It's cozy actually" Isobel pronounced as she sat her bag down beside the sofa.

"For the low low price of $1,956 dollars a month" Gordon shouted as he moved into what was the bedroom and stripped off his uniform shirt and protective vest.

Moving closer towards the bedroom, Isobel caught sight of a thick scar that rang along his hip bone and up over his ribs. Swallowing hard, she averted her eyes and walked back towards the kitchen as he came to stand next to her, pulling on a white t-shirt.

"Um, I don't suppose you have something I could eat?" she asked sheepishly as James walked over to the coffee pot and started to fill it with cold water.

"You're asking me to make you breakfast?" he questioned with a surprise, as Isobel shook her head.

"Never mind."

_The man has obviously never had a woman over. His hospitality is the shits_ Isobel noted as she yawned loudly.

Moving into the living room, she took a seat on the leather couch and no sooner was Gordon finished with the measuring out of coffee beans than her soft snores reached his ears.

Walking into his living, he stood beside the sofa and stared down at the young girl fast asleep.

"Just…perfect" he spat, clicking his tongue against his cheek as he moved in front of the sofa.

"The only time she's actually been quiet and not irritating" he noted as he leaned down and took her up in his arms. She weighed next to nothing as he carried her into his bedroom. Laying her down on his bed, Gordon caught the slight smell of vanilla coming from her hair as he slipped his arm out from under her shoulders. Pulling up the loose white sheet, he watched her roll over away from him as the thought to handcuff her quickly entered his mind before he threw it out the window.

"Better not" he spoke as he turned towards his bureau and took out a pair of jeans.

Pulling the door closed behind him, he rubbed his own eyes as the smell of strong coffee hit his senses.

…

_5 hours later_

Rolling over onto her back, the young girl threw her eyes open as she stared up at a stilled ceiling fan.

Sitting up in the queen sized bed which touched the brick wall near the window, Isobel swung her feet over the edge and rubbed her eyes.

The bedroom door was closed, but she could hear the soft clangs of what could have been dishes being moved around.

Stepping out into the living room, she halted in her steps as a red haired woman seated on the sofa stared at her.

"I…"

"It's about time. Your _breakfast_ is getting cold" Gordon spoke as he took a sip of coffee.

"You have _company_ Jimmy" the young red head smiled playfully as she looked up to her brother who stood next to the arm of the sofa.

"Not that kind of company Barbara; this is Isobel Middleton."

"Well well" came the response as Isobel felt confused.

"I'm no one special" she muttered as Gordon held out a cup towards her.

"It's eleven o'clock by the way" he sneered as Isobel felt warm.

"On the contrary, you have kept my brother on his Officer toes; which I'd say is a great achievement" Barbara Gordon smiled as she held out her hand.

"Barbara Gordon. Sister to this one over here" she nodded as James disappeared back into the kitchen alcove.

"Um, nice to meet you" Isobel breathed as Gordon sat a plate on the table.

"Sit. There's no extra bacon Barbara."

The plate before her was beautiful.

Scrambled eggs, buttered toast, a few green seedless grapes, and bacon as Gordon handed her a knife and fork.

"I don't like bacon" she frowned as Barbara leaned over and took the two pieces.

"She's a nice catch Jimmy. Wine and dine this one" Barbara smiled as Isobel nearly choked on her eggs.

"She's a runaway from Canada. Montreal to be exact Barbara" James educated as his sister caught his eye.

"Then what is she doing here?"

"I'm looking for my father." Isobel answered as she swallowed the rest of her coffee.

"So you are here, having breakfast and a nap in an official capacity."

"Exactly" Isobel challenged not much liking Gordon's sister's interest.

"And who is your father?"

"Barbara, don't you have studying to do?" Gordon broke in as Isobel felt grateful.

"Of course, a Ph. D isn't going to write itself" she spoke rising to her feet.

"Just make sure you make it to dinner tonight" she added before hugging her brother and leaving the apartment without a word to Isobel.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Gordon questioned as he brought over the coffee pot.

"For me not having to tell your sister that I have no clue as to who my father is" Isobel replied, looking towards the side window in the kitchen.

"My distraction saved us both from further unpleasant explanations."

"Why exactly did you agree to help me on your own time?"

Meeting her hazel eyes, James Gordon took a sip from his mug.

"I'm a police officer. Is that not my job to help others?"

She could tell by his refusal of a straight answer that it was either not so easy for him to show his personal side, or he was genuinely taking up his sworn duties.

Nodding her head, Isobel finished what remained on both her plate and in her glass before ushering the utensils to the sink.

"On my laptop, I have access to the Police data mainframe; we could try plugging in your phone number to see what comes up."

Moving over to her backpack, Isobel pulled out her wallet and took a seat back at the kitchen table as James retrieved his laptop from the bedroom.

With shaky fingers, she pulled out the piece of paper and tried to flatten the dog eared corners on the table.

"What if we get no hits?" Gordon's voice rang out at her side as she startled slightly.

"My Uncle wrote this out, he was determined in his writing. He didn't need to look it up; he knew this number by heart. It has to be valid" Isobel replied as James opened the lid to the computer and entered his password.

"Let's hope you're right."

…

"There is an all points bulletin out on you Miss Middleton."

Raising her eyes to the young man's profile, Isobel felt ill as she touched her the top of her mobile.

"Would the police be monitoring my cell phone use?"

Giving a chuckle, James Gordon rested his hands upon the back of his neck.

"You watch too many movies. I doubt the station would even bother. They will figure that you'll be found soon."

"So, it's a good chance that my Mother knows that I am "missing?" Isobel questioned as she looked once more to her phone.

_If that is the case, why hasn't she tried to contact me? Some Mother_

"Let's have those digits."

Hunching down into her seat, she felt her arm brush against his as she smoothed out the piece of paper.

"214-568-7710."

Entering in the digits before asking for confirmation, James sat back and watched as a tiny hour glass began to spin.

Fixing her eyes on the screen, Isobel's stomach lurched forward as the glass stopped spinning.

**NO RECORDS FOUND**

"That can't be" she whispered, pushing her chair back and standing to her feet.

"If the number your Uncle gave you is a cell phone or unlisted, we might very well not receive a hit. I'll type it in the search engine."

Three minutes later, Gordon sat back in his chair.

"Isobel, I don't have anything for that number."

Standing by the kitchen window, Isobel looked down at the alleyway below and watched as two tabby cats made a run for the next building's fire stairs.

"Can you do a reverse search? Type the number in a 411 or something?"

"I already tried. Could this number no longer be in service?"

"It's only been a few days since he gave it to me. It's a long shot possibility, but I don't think so" she replied, crossing her arms and feeling defeated.

"What will you do now?" he asked, closing his laptop.

"Like you said, a wild goose chase."

Standing to his feet, Gordon shook his head as he tapped his fingers along the lid.

"You can't be serious."

"I said that I would not return to Montreal. I have sufficient funds to at least spend a few months here searching. I'll text my Uncle and beg if I have to for his name."

Walking over to the counter and stopping a few feet away from her, Gordon crossed his own arms in reflection.

"No job, no education, no place to stay…"

"I could give you rent" her voice squeaked.

Throwing his eyes to her face, he was quite taken aback as he began to laugh.

"Absolutely not."

"Then Officer Gordon, I thank you very much for trying to help, but I shall be off to a cheap, rodent infested authentic Gotham motel" Isobel spoke firmly as she moved around the steadfast man towards her backpack.

"Did you forget Miss. Middleton that the police are out looking for you" he threatened, walking over to the door.

"You're going to turn me in" she shrugged, tossing her one good strapped book bag over her shoulder.

"Yes."

Letting the bag fall to the floor with a loud thump, Isobel took a seat at the table and pulled out her mobile phone.

"I'm going to try calling the number. If I get through to someone, you let me walk out the door" she bargained as Gordon refused to move from the door.

"We'll see."

Typing in the number, she pressed the call button and brought the phone to her ear.

It was ringing at least.

"It's ringing."

Biting the inside of her cheek, she had counted nearly twelve rings.

No answer, no machine, no one picking up on the other end.

Ending the call, Isobel sat the phone back down onto the table and put her hands up to her head.

She wouldn't cry.

Hearing his shuffle, she refused to look up as he pulled out a chair and positioned it to face her.

"Perhaps this is for the best" he offered, taking a seat as Isobel sat back in frustration.

Grabbing her phone once more, she began to thumb a message to Paul when she felt his fingers touching her wrist.

"I can't call off the dogs; I'd be putting my own career in jeopardy. Even if you stayed in a shelter, your face would be all over the news. Sooner or later, you'd be recognized and picked up" he explained as Isobel leaned forward towards him.

Setting confused eyes on her face, Gordon froze as Isobel firmly pressed her lips against his. Pulling away, she reached for her mobile and pressed send to the message before rising to her feet.

"I'll take my chances at the shelter."

…

To say that her parents were upset was a gross understatement.

Not only was her phone taken by her Mother, but her Father had sat in silence the whole seven hours on the return flight to Montreal, Quebec.

"Kate, you fabricated this whole trip to Ottawa when you were going to Gotham City. You lied to us, left your teachers, and was hauled off to the police station. You are fucking grounded forever."

Listening to her Mother's irate words, Katie Emerson could do nothing but sit in her airline seat and look at her watch.

_Jesus Isobel, I hope you're ok_ she feared, wondering if the tenth time of asking would allow her to use of her cell phone.

The last text she had sent had been Karen's address and she had heard nothing back. The blond police officer that taken her phone after escorting her into the Interview Room must have sent her a message and no doubt; Mrs. Middleton would be on her way to collect her daughter who would be double handcuffed to three chairs.

"Mom, can I please use my phone?"

"That is out of the question young lady, you don't have a phone anymore" her father piped up as a food tray was offered to him.

Closing her eyes, she rested her head against the back of her seat.

Tonight she would phone Mrs. Middleton.

"I'm sorry Issie."

…

"As soon as I drop you off at the front doors, I am calling it in. Ten minutes and I'll have a fleet here to collect you."

"So what you're saying is that I have ten minutes to run like hell in any direction" Isobel confirmed as Gordon shifted the car into second gear.

"Isobel, please don't make this difficult. Just stay at the shelter. My advice is to come back in a few months' time after you've finished high school and are of age. No one will be able to stop you then."

"My mother will likely throw my passport into the fireplace preventing me from leaving the country" she muttered as Gordon pulled over to an unassuming grey building with two shabby dressed women perched on the stairs.

"I've brought many women here; I don't want to leave you here Isobel" James spoke, as she gathered up book bag.

"You know where to find me" he added as Isobel threw open the door and climbed out.

"Again, I thank you for everywhere you've done" she added as Gordon watched the young girl walk past the steps of the shelter and down the sidewalk without checking the street signs.

Taking out his cell phone, he breathed slowly as he dialed in the familiar numbers to dispatch.

"This is Officer James Gordon, I'm off duty but have spotted one Isobel Middleton from APB 1013 requesting on duty Officers to Monroe street west of Bagot" he spoke pressing his fingertips against his lips and watching as Isobel turned right and out of sight.

…

Making her way down the crowded sidewalk, she had no idea where to go.

No doubt Gordon had already placed his phone call.

Fumbling for her phone, Isobel stepped out onto the road and was startled by the horn blast of silver Mercedes Benz.

"Bloody hell, learn to drive!" she spat as she stepped back onto the sidewalk and heard a familiar name.

"Miss. Emerson?"

Throwing her eyes onto the now rolled down window of the expensive car, she was met with surprise at the man who leaned out.

"Mr. Wayne" she choked as the sounds of numerous car horns began blasting from behind.

"This may go against all childhood rules on climbing into cars with strangers; but in the effort to silence the horns, you would accept a ride" Wayne spoke without a question as he pushed open his door.

_Damn why not?_ She thought as she scurried along the plush seats, pulling the door shut behind her.

Nodding to the elderly man at the wheel, Bruce looked to the young girl's profile as she clutched her book bag.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you. We've restored the flow of traffic" Wayne spoke as a pair of soft aging blue eyes caught his in the rearview mirror.

"Why are you not with your class?"

_Here we go_ she noted as she nodded her head.

"I've decided to branch out on my own in Gotham City" Isobel replied as Wayne cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Adventurous, and very very stupid" he spat as Isobel looked to his face.

"Call it teenage rebellion Mr. Wayne, but I have my own agenda."

"Like what?" he questioned as Isobel pressed her lips together.

_If Gotham police couldn't help her track down her father, why would Bruce Wayne be able to help?_

"Like you said, rules of getting into cars with strangers. Never talk to strangers."

The car fell into silence as the elderly man behind the wheel slowed the Mercedes down to standstill at the red traffic light. Fishing into his pea coat pocket, he withdrew his mobile phone and found one missed call before tucking it back out of view.

"Will you still be heading directly to Wayne Enterprises Sir?" Alfred questioned as Isobel threw her eyes out the window.

"Well now that depends" he spoke looking to Isobel as she tapped her fingers along the zipper to her bag.

"Would you be put off from your _agenda_, if you stopped for lunch?" Wayne asked as Isobel felt her stomach growl.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You don't even know me. All you know is that I am a teenager who's run away from her teachers with only a back pack in my possession" Isobel questioned as Wayne squared his shoulders.

"_Manners_ I would have assumed and taught by your parents extended beyond addressing one as Sir or Madam" he growled as Isobel instantly shrunk down in her seat.

"I am hungry" she replied, keeping her voice low as Alfred Pennyworth merged into the next lane of traffic.

"Alfred, to Smith and Wollensky's" Bruce spoke as Isobel looked back out to the window.

Spying a parked cop car on the side of the road, Isobel quickly looked straight ahead which did not go unnoticed by her wealthy host.

"Avoiding police detection as well?" Bruce muttered as he began thumbing through his Blackberry and onto the securely hacked Gotham Police data mainframe. Thumbing in the last name **EMERSON**, he immediately received no hits as to missing persons.

"Not all police officers are bad" she whispered as Bruce nodded his head.

"I agree."

…

The number of missed calls and left messages on her phone had doubled by the time she had reached her lunch.

"If any are from my students asking for yet another extension, I swear I am sending them a bill for airtime" Rebecca spat as she handed over a ten dollar bill to cover her chicken caesar salad and diet pepsi.

Not having heard from her daughter, Rebecca rolled her eyes as she entered in the digits to her voicemail.

YOU HAVE 12 NEW MESSAGES

"Christ."

MESSAGE ONE…

"Ms. Middleton, this is Mr. Alderson, the Principal of St. George's School, we need to speak with you as soon as possible concerning the disappearance of your daughter Isobel Middleton. Again, this message is extremely urgent."

_Disappearance?_

Fumbling with her phone, Rebecca dropped it hard on the table top as she struggled to thumb in the digits to unlock it.

_She can't be missing; I just talked to her… the other day_ Rebecca noted as the line rang through.

"Mr. Alderson? This is Rebecca Middleton."

"Ms. Middleton, we have just had notice given to my office by the Gotham City Police Department that your daughter and a classmate broke away from the class trip in Gotham City."

_Wait_

_Gotham City?_

"I…I'm sorry, but Isobel wasn't on a trip to Gotham; she was going to Ottawa. I signed the forms myself" Rebecca sputtered, feeling deadly cold as the voice on the other end of the line spoke.

"No M'am, the end of the year Graduate trip was to Gotham City. The students were scheduled to come back today, but due to this incident, the Gotham City Police Department has advised us to air fly the rest of the student's home as two of the teachers are remaining in Gotham to answer questions."

_He's wrong. I signed papers for Ottawa, Isobel what the fuck have you done?_

"Does your daughter know anyone in Gotham City that she would get in touch with?"

"Nnn..Nooo, she doesn't" Rebecca spoke with a shaky voice just as the realization hit her hard.

_She's gone looking for Bruce._

"Please, Mr. Alderson, keep me updated I will be making preparations to travel down to Gotham City myself."

Ending the call, her fingers couldn't work fast enough to enter her daughter's mobile number as it rang and rang with no response. Hearing it click to voicemail, she let loose one hell of a tyrant.

"**ISOBEL! YOU LIED TO ME ABOUT OTTAWA. DO NOT GO LOOKING FOR YOUR FUCKING FATHER, I AM COMING TO GOTHAM AND BRINGING YOU HOME NOW!"** Catching sight of concerned eyes from the neighboring table, Rebecca left her lunch untouched as she hurried away thumbing Paul's number.

…

Seated at the table, Isobel wedged her back pack between her shoed feet before breathing out to relax.

"Do you have all your worldly possessions in that dirty backpack?" Wayne's voice broke out Isobel took up her glass of sparkling water and took a small sip.

"Everything that is necessary, yes" she replied as Wayne scrolled through his Blackberry with a bored look.

"If I'm boring you Mr. Wayne, I apologize" she challenged as Bruce raised his eyes to her face.

"Not at all, how do you like Gotham City?" he asked, turning off his Blackberry and pocketing it inside his black blazer.

"Um, I've seen more crime, dirt, and homeless in the three days I have been here than my entire life in Quebec" she began as Wayne stared back at her.

"Do you speak French?"

"No."

"Shame, I'm needing someone bilingual as an assistant to my…assistant" he dragged out looking away as two plates of food arrived.

"You want to offer me a job? Some kid who hasn't finished high school?" Isobel blurted out as Wayne crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well not anymore. You don't speak French, and I'm assuming you're not even eighteen yet Miss. Emerson" he spoke flatly.

"You know, I think I'm just going to leave. Mr. Wayne thank you for the food, but I really don't want to be sitting in here" Isobel muttered quickly rising to her feet as she felt the pings of tears at the corner of her eyes.

"The washrooms are around the corner Miss. Emerson. Compose yourself then come back and eat."

His voice was soothing as Isobel nodded her head.

Taking her book bag with her, she took off for the privacy of the washroom just out of earshot of her mobile phone.

Resting his coffee cup down, Bruce Wayne stared at the screen as it lit up with a single word.

**MUM**

Touching the screen with his index finger, he toyed with the idea of answering the call. The young girl was already in a state and obviously had no contacts in the city. Hell, she was one step away from running away from him without touching a free meal.

"What are you possibility hoping to find in this city?" Bruce wondered out loud as the call ended and went to voicemail.

"Mr. Wayne, I wanted to apologize for snapping at you?" came the young girl's voice at his elbow.

Rising to his feet, Bruce offered a hand towards the table as Isobel sat back down, her face now pink from being scrubbed clean.

"Please tell me Miss. Emerson, why are you choosing to stay on in Gotham City with only a back pack and no obvious connections?" Bruce questioned watching as Isobel tucked into a few french fries.

"Well Gotham City really chose me" she replied as Bruce furrowed his eyebrow at her.

"I have family in the city."

"Yet you don't have an address for them?"

As he spoke, the screen to Isobel's phone lit up once more as the calling identification was unknown.

"It rang before" Wayne spoke as he ate a bite of salad.

"I'm sure I know who this is."

"Miss. Emerson, may I ask if you are in any sort of trouble?"

_Oh you don't know the half of it Mr. Wayne_ she thought as she shook her head no.

"Be a better liar Miss. Emerson" Bruce growled as she sat back in her seat dumbfounded.

"Did you ever see something happen that made you feel powerless?"

Her raw question hit him squarely as he fumbled with his salad fork.

"Many things" he replied as Isobel focused on a single fry.

"Well my one thing has had me tossed about by police officers, handcuffed to a chair, and destroyed a set of clothes covered with blood."

"Gotham City is not for the faint" Bruce offered as Isobel dropped the fry.

"I saw a woman get shot right in front of me. I tried to help stop her bleeding, but Katie and I saw her on the stretcher. I'm sure she died" Isobel whispered softly as Bruce watched her push her plate aside.

"Who is Katie?"

Catching her fault, Isobel bit her lip.

"Uh, my friend Katie. She was with me. She saw it too."

"Katie and Katie" Bruce tasted as Isobel started to fidget.

_What is it about you that I find so familiar?_ He wondered silently as he took out his Blackberry and thumbed in a string of digits.

"Miss. Emerson, you need to go home. Gotham City is worst for crime and I'm sure your parents are worried" he added, taking note of the missed MUM call and the girl's none too eager response.

"Please, there have been times when I've seen my mother only a handful of times in a month" Isobel spat as Wayne shifted in his chair.

"Your father then" he muttered, not wishing to have this conversation with a kid.

_What the hell do I care if she has absent parents and lives as a latch key kid?_

"Well, really that's who…" Isobel began just as Wayne cut her off.

"Miss. Emerson, my car is out front. When you are finished, I shall take you to the shelter on Monroe…"

"**OH JUST FORGET IT!" **

Taken aback by her loud shout, Bruce sprang to his feet and roughly gripped her arm.

"**YOU DON'T BELONG IN GOTHAM CITY KID, IT WILL EAT YOU ALIVE!" **Bruce shouted as Isobel painfully twisted out of his grip.

"**FUCK THIS WHOLE TOWN, AND SCREW YOU MR. WAYNE. I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR CHARITY!" **Isobel spat as she grabbed her phone and made off for the door of the restaurant that would lead her back out onto the streets.

"Jesus Christ" Bruce breathed as the young girl disappeared from his sight.

"She's going to get herself killed" he whispered to himself as he looked to his watch.

Stepping outside, he was met by Alfred who stood at the side of the Mercedes.

"Kids Alfred" he muttered as the elderly butler opened the door for his charge.

"I wouldn't know Master Wayne" he replied as Bruce pulled the door shut.

"Neither would I", he spoke his eyes narrowing.


End file.
